JEDDAH, 10 May 2006 — Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday expressed her gratitude to the Saudi government for releasing 138 Filipinos jailed for various offenses. Arroyo said she had asked for the pardon of 50 Filipinos but Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah added 88 more as a goodwill gesture.
“This is the best gift we could take home,” Arroyo told hundreds of Filipinos during a reception at Le Meridien Hotel in Jeddah yesterday.
Many of the 138 who were pardoned faced major cases, but the “blood money” requirement had been waived, she said, referring to the practice in Saudi Arabia of perpetrators paying victims or their families for certain crimes.
In addition, the Saudi government has also allowed the immediate repatriation of 75 runaway Filipino women who had sought shelter at the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah, Consul General Pendosina Lomondot said during a speech welcoming the president.
Arroyo had said her state visit to the Kingdom, which started on Sunday, focused on “three O’s, that is, oil, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).”
Amid skyrocketing oil prices, Arroyo had said she was hoping to convince Saudi Arabia for a discount for poor countries such as the Philippines.
In her speech yesterday, she said Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi had assured her that in case of supply disruption, Saudi Arabia would make up for the shortfalls.
Arroyo also said the OIC, of which Saudi Arabia is an important member and host to the organization’s headquarters, has reaffirmed its support for the Philippines’ quest for a peaceful settlement of the Muslim separatist problem in the southern region of Mindanao.
Arroyo’s meeting with the Filipino community in Jeddah followed another held with Filipinos in Riyadh on Monday night.
Before proceeding to Alkhobar last night for another meeting with the Filipino community and businessmen in the Eastern Province, she attended a meeting at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), during which she urged Saudi businessmen to invest in the Philippines. The president highlighted investment opportunities in the Philippines, especially in tourism, food processing and banking.
With the trade balance 20 to 1 in favor of Saudi Arabia, Arroyo said she believed there were many opportunities for Saudis to invest in her country. She also encouraged equity investment in the Philippines pointing to the stable and growing economic conditions.
One of the more attractive sectors for investment is tourism, which, she described as “busting from the seams.”
“We don’t have enough hotels and resorts to accommodate the tourists,” said Arroyo. “We (also) hope Saudis invest in oil-refining projects in Mindanao where half of our Muslim population lives. We are grateful for Saudi Arabia’s support and standing by the Philippines for peace and development there.”
She also invited Saudis to take a look at the Philippine’s Islamic Bank, Al-Amana Bank, which they want to privatize.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and JCCI to bring forth the cooperation agreed upon during the meeting. She is to make the same pitch to businessmen in the Eastern Province today before returning home.
Deputy chairman of the JCCI, Mazin Batarji, greeted Arroyo and her delegation of government officials and businessmen from various sectors.
He pointed to the business relations between the two countries and hoped to see them expand and diversify especially as both markets enjoy consumer confidence in their products and favorable economic system and investment environment.
“We import many consumer products from the Philippines but we wish to invest more in industrial products. We wish to export other non-oil products to the Philippines and see more cooperation between the private sectors and in such areas as information technology and trade,” he said.
Before joining the businessmen and women for lunch as the guest of honor, Arroyo answered a few of their questions. JCCI board of director’s member, Madawi Al-Hassoun, asked the president about the advantages and disadvantages of joining the WTO since the Philippines already did.
Arroyo said that for her the question was not are we ready to join but are we ready not to join and be excluded. “The advantage is to be part of everyone else, to share in the rules of the game which can be with you or against you. WTO is not about free trade, it’s about fair trade and orderly trade,” she said.
Businessman Mohammed Jamjoom asked about the peace negotiations in the Philippines and Arroyo said that they are going quite well with several tentative agreements reached, the whole purpose is to see that the Muslim people there also benefit from the economic reforms in the country.
After lunch, the president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ambassador Donald Dee, and Batarji for JCCI signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on implementing agreements reached between Saudi and Filipino businessmen.
“The memorandum talks of cooperation in different fields and we will later draft memos detailing those fields and investment opportunities and the time frame,” said Mohammed Al-Sharif, secretary-general of JCCI, to Arab News.
Arroyo then gave an interview with Saudi TV where she again gratitude for Saudi Arabia’s role in the peace negotiations and hoped her visit would enhance relationships between the two countries.
