JEDDAH, 8 January 2008 — Amid criticisms against the Philippine Consulate, the new consul general in Jeddah said he is introducing changes meant to ensure efficiency and bring the post closer to the Filipino community.

One of the first acts of Consul General Ezzedin Tago was to assure Teresita Santos, a gang-rape victim, that he will personally work on her case.

Tago took over the Jeddah post from Consul General Pendosina N. Lomondot upon his arrival on Dec. 22, but he was able to present his consular commission only on Jan. 1 to Ambassador Mohamed El-Tayeb, director general of Makkah Mukarama branch of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In an interview with Arab News, Tago said that among the key changes that he was introducing are:

• the extension of work hours at the consular section to 4:30 p.m. to accommodate OFWs who need to transact business after their own work hours, especially those from faraway places;

• for all consulate personnel to work harder and serve all OFWs, regardless of status, with utmost respect and courtesy; and

• for every staff to wear authenticated ID cards all the time while inside the consulate compound to ensure transparency, and as a measure against fixers.

“In my meetings with our staff, I have discussed with them their logistical problems and promised them my support to address these problems, but I also reminded them that we are here to serve our OFWs and compatriots.

“I reminded them that we must serve with a smile. In the same way that we expect people to also treat us (with respect), we should also treat them ... with immediate expediency and care ... we must serve with care and sense of welfare for all,” he said.

“My instruction is that as long as our office is open until 4:30 p.m., the staff should receive applications (for the issuance of new passports or renewal of passports, etc.),” he said.

He also reminded the consulate staff against any hanky-panky.

“I will not tolerate any incident where any staff of this consulate does not treat any person, any OFW, or anyone for that matter, in an unprofessional, discourteous way,” he said.

To promote camaraderie, Tago said he is encouraging sports and physical fitness activities among consulate peronnel, including those from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (POLO-OWWA).

He said he has scheduled a meeting on Jan. 18 at 4:30 p.m. with community leaders all over western Saudi Arabia to seek their support and suggestions on how to further improve consular services.

Monitoring of Cases

Consul General Tago also said he will come up with a system of monitoring all cases involving Filipinos in the region to ensure that not a case would be lost by default.

In the case of rape victim Teresita Santos, the envoy said it was imperative to win back her trust and confidence in the consulate.

Tago said he has talked with Santos about her case, which is one of the subjects of an inquiry being sought by Senate President Manuel

Villar cited a report by the Manila-based Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA) headed by Ellene Sana, which also complained that OFWs Julian Camat, Hermilo Ramos, and Napoleon Fabregas, who were sentenced to one-a-half-years in jail for alleged theft, ended up serving four years and four months due to the negligence of the consulate in Jeddah.

Camat, Ramos and Fabregas were released in January 2007 only after independent human rights activist Abdullah Sabig, acting upon the request of the Riyadh-based advocacy group V-Team and the DFA, questioned the continued detention of the trio.

According to Joseph Espiritu, Patnubay.com administrator and a CMA volunteer in Riyadh, the advocacy group decided to bring the complaint to the Senate last week because the DFA’s Office of Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs, or OUMWA, kept defending the Jeddah consulate personnel instead of investigating the complaint.

In the case of Santos, she accused consulate personnel in Jeddah of depriving her of proper legal advice that almost caused her to lose claim to her private rights, even though the perpetrators have been found guilty and sentenced to four years in prison and 500 lashes each.

In a letter-complaint submitted to the DFA, Santos said fellow OFWs helped her file a case to claim for her private rights and accused Assistance to Nationals Section (ANS) personnel of blocking the hearings.

Sought for comment, ANS head Vicky Salian said she already answered Santos’ charges in a report to the home office.

Tago also refused to comment on the Senate investigation, but assured that he will do his very best to ensure that every case brought to the consulate would be acted upon with dispatch.

Last Sunday, Santos explained by phone that she has agreed to cooperate with the new consul general in working on her case in court, but added that she is still “traumatized” by the way she was treated by the ANS personnel who were assigned to help her. Santos demanded a public apology from the ANS officials and termination from the service of those who mishandled her case.

“They not only neglected their duty but also insulted me repeatedly. You know, one of the officers was even very jubilant as he told me that I will not get any private rights. Whenever I am reminded of that ordeal, I find myself screaming,” Santos said in Tagalog.

Help From Saudi Officials

Meanwhile, Sabig, who had earlier agreed to also take up Santos’ case, yesterday said he wanted to find out why two other suspects who were positively identified by victim to police investigators, ended up being excluded in the case filed in court.

“The good news is that Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman has assured me that that he has assigned his representative to look into the case,” said Sabig, an aircraft engineer and retired officer of the Royal Saudi Air Force.

He said the governor’s representative, Dr. Ibrahim Abdul Kharim Alkhatib, is also reportedly looking into the case filed by two Filipino dentists against a clinic in Riyadh that had been treating them badly.

According to Sabig, Alkhatib found, in addition to the dentists’ complaints that several other health workers were made to use visas for domestic workers, work 12 hours without overtime pay, locked in their rooms like prisoners, and allowed to go on vacation only after four years.

“Such abuses and maltreatment against workers, whether locals or expats, must be stopped. And I’m happy to report that the Governor of Riyadh is leading the way by looking into complaints such as these,” he told Arab News by telephone.