RIYADH, 25 June 2006 — OFWs in the Kingdom who have contributed to the Barya Mo, Buhay Ko (BMBK) fund are asking Labor Attaché Manuel Roldan to account for the money placed under his care before leaving for another post.
Demands for public accounting were made after it came to light that Roldan had allegedly been keeping in his personal bank account the 2-million-peso donation of Sen. Panfilo Lacson to the fund.
The BMBK was organized by the community in Riyadh in March 2002 as a welfare fund to help distressed Filipino workers.
Lacson, who was in the Kingdom at that time for a congressional hearing on the Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV) bill, pledged P5 million for the fund from his “pork barrel” allocation but the government released only P2 million.
Because the BMBK could not be registered with the Securites and Exchange Commission (SEC) as ABS-CBN television network had a project of the same name, the BMBK was dropped in favor TUPA, Inc., which stands for Tulong at Pagmamahal sa OFW, Inc. The TUPA-OFW was the designated caretaker of the money but since the laws of the Kingdom promulgated by SAMA do not allow organizations to open bank accounts, it was channeled to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Riyadh.
Distressing News
Word that the money was deposited under Labor Attaché Roldan’s personal account, however, has become a source of distress for even those who are actively helping fellow OFWs who need help.
“Where’s the money? We ought to know?” asked one community leader who was actively involved in organizing the BMBK, or TUPA, Inc.
“We are not accusing Labatt Roldan of stealing. All we ask of him is to make a public accounting before leaving. He had been giving farewell speeches to community groups but he has not made a single mention of the fund,” said another.
The issue surfaced when a group of OFWs solcited assistance from fellow Filipinos to raise the cost of air tickets of some wards in the Bahay Kalinga (BK). The BK is the place where runaway female OFWs are sheltered under the care of the POLO and the embassy in general.
Contacted by Arab News, Roldan admitted that the money was deposited to his dollar savings account (#037-087-223-020) and assured it is intact. “When Jainal Rasul relinquished the position of labor attaché to me in 2004, he turned over as well the money, which is equivalent to $37,160.18. The money has earned $437.06, so it has increased now to $37,597.24,” Roldan said in a telephone interview.
Consul General Nestor Padalhin, the charge d’affaires at the embassy, said the mission has its own bank account where collections from the day-to-day transactions are all deposited.
“Since I am new in Riyadh, I have no idea yet on this (Lacson money) issue but I will ask and investigate,” Padalhin said.
The Philippine Embassy is a different unit, according to Roldan. “We were assigned as custodian of the money since it’s a fund of the Department of Labor and Employment that we are talking about. It takes another process to change the procedure and Manila will have to approve it before getting it implemented,” he said.
Roldan said only the DOLE can approve the disbursement of the money and that he had received on Thursday a phone call from Manila “giving the POLO the green-signal to utilize the money.”
“The money is there,” he insisted. “I can turn it over any time to the incoming labor attaché even tomorrow for as long as he gets his iqama, because that’s a requirement of the bank,” Roldan asserted.
When asked of the discrepancy in the bank statement he released to the The Filipino Channel (TFC) as against the bank account he reported to Arab News, Roldan said he initially opened a Saudi riyal account but later transferred the funds to the dollar account last month when he switched his Saudi riyal account for his personal use.
The prevailing rate of exchange from riyals to dollars will have an impact on the total amount, said a bank expert who asked not to be named. “If that’s the case, then the amount reported by Labatt Roldan is incorrect.”
The bank statement of the dollar account provided to Arab News by Roldan as of May 13, 2006, did not reflect the movement or transfer of fund in question from his Saudi riyal account. The account bears the name of “Manuel Campasas Roldan” with the letterhead of Saudi Hollandi Bank.
“Lacson’s donation is no longer shown in my Saudi riyal account,” Roldan said.
