DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 11 March) — Vice President Sara Duterte criticized the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for failing to adequately prepare for the challenges posed by the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
MindaNews photo by MANMAN DEJETO
Duterte told reporters during an interview shortly after attending Holy Mass at San Pedro Cathedral on Wednesday that the outbreak of war in the Middle East had been foreseen as early as 2022.
“Dapat noong 2022 pa lang naghanda na ang pamahalaan na ito, pero wala tayong nakitang paghanda at wala tayong nakikita na pagbibigay man lang ng solusyon sa mangyayaring problema sa susunod na buwan at sa susunod na taon (The government should have prepared as early as 2022, but we did not see any preparations, nor did we see any attempt to provide solutions to the problems that will arise in the coming months and years),” she said.
The Vice President had earlier criticized the administration’s efforts to repatriate overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East, saying it is not difficult to send airplanes to bring them back home.
President Marcos said the Philippine government is arranging chartered flights out of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and another out of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates (UAE) to bring OFWs back home, following the easing of tensions in the Middle East.
“But now that the Emirates has decided that it is safe enough for them to fly, it should be safe enough also for us to charter airplanes para maisakay yung iba nating Pilipino na gustong umuwi (to bring Filipinos who want to go home),” he told reporters in a press conference broadcast over state-owned Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM).
The President said flights out of Riyadh will accommodate those based in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain, while those out of Fujairah will accommodate OFWs in the United Arab Emirates.
“We do not make the differentiation between men and women. As OFWs, we will help them, and to protect them. We have to depend on the local authorities there because we don’t have military or police there,” he said.
President Marcos said OFWs are “being kept safe by the governments of the countries where they have been working.”
He said he has directed Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac to travel to Dubai to monitor the situation in the Middle East. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
