JEDDAH, 17 July 2005 — A leader of the militant Migrante International was mauled at the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah yesterday while attempting to dramatize his group’s call for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to step down.
Leo Legaspi, Migrante’s spokesman in western Saudi Arabia, complained to Consul General Pendosina N. Lomondot that he was ganged upon by consulate personnel led by a welfare officer, whose task is to assist distressed workers.
“We were just trying to exercise our rights as Filipino citizens,” said Legaspi, who complained of pain in the head, left ear and abdomen after the mauling incident.
Witnesses said it all started when Legaspi and a group of Filipino women workers were getting ready to display anti-Arroyo posters for a picture at the consulate yard at about 3 p.m. The women were all wards of the Filipino Women’s Resource Center (FWRC), a shelter for distressed Pinoy women workers.
Legaspi was to accompany the women in a meeting with Lomondot to raise their concerns.
They tried to take advantage of the presence of media to voice out their concern over President Arroyo’s refusal to step down.
A security officer tried to stop the spectacle and an argument ensued. While Legaspi and the guard were arguing, FWRC head Anwar Ampang came and landed a right hook on Legaspi’s face, causing the hapless activist to topple to the ground.
Ampang followed with a kick on the fallen victim’s head, after which the guard and two others came and beat him more, witnesses told Arab News.
Witnesses said the women, most of whom have reportedly ran away from abusive employers, managed to shield Legaspi from further beating, enabling him to slip into the office of assistant Labor Attaché Des Dicang.
It was then that Consul General Lomondot and Administrative Officer Taha Guinomla arrived and pacified the attackers.
In a meeting with Lomondot, Legaspi demanded that his attackers be ousted and be barred from further foreign posting in view of what happened.
Ampang apologized for his lapse of judgment but also blamed Legaspi for being disrespectful of the chief of security.
Moreover, Ampang said, he did not like the way Legaspi took out his wards from the FWRC without asking his permission.
Dr. Froilan Obillo saw Legaspi after the incident and after he complained of pain on his left ear and abdomen.
Ampang complained of chest pain, claiming that Legaspi gave him a front kick during the brawl.
Lomondot told Arab News that he has ordered an immediate investigation of the incident. He refused to give a statement pending the investigation.
