Officials in OWWA fund row fail to attend Senate inquiry

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July 31, 2006
Updated 19:36:39 (Mla time)
Veronica Uy Lira Dalangin-Fernandez Maila Ager
INQ7.net

(2ND UPDATE) OFFICIALS invited by the Senate to shed light on the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration fund controversy failed to attend the hearing on Monday, but Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Al Francis Bicharra reiterated that his office did not receive any money from the Department of Foreign Affairs for the evacuation of Filipino workers from the war-torn country.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita cited ongoing “critical operations” for the repatriation of the Filipinos.

In a letter dated July 29 to Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, chairman of the committee tasked to investigate the case, Ermita said: “Your honor must be aware that all of the government officials invited to the inquiry are currently engaged in critical operations to get our OFWs in Lebanon out of harm's way, and bring them home to the Philippines. It is in the national interest that such officials are allowed to do their job with undiminished time and attention.”

Ermita noted that the invitation did not indicate the “statute that prompted the inquiry or the questions in relation to the inquiry.”

Ermita also asked that he be provided with the above information and be given enough time to prepare for the hearing.

Estrada, head of the committee on labor and employment, crumpled Ermita’s letter after reading it into the record.

“Unfortunately, Ermita’s letter is a clear indication that Malacañang is covering up the loss of funds of the OFWs,” Estrada said.

Estrada said all the government officials invited to the hearing -- OWWA Administrator Marianito Roque, Labor Secretary Arturo Brion, and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos -- had confirmed their attendance.

“Modena begged off apparently upon instruction from Malacañang,” he said, referring to Philippine Ambassador to Israel Antonio Modena.

Asked about the consequences for these government officials, Estrada said he would discuss with Senate President Manuel Villar the possibility of issuing subpoenas.

Testifying via an overseas phone call, Bicharra authenticated the document he faxed to Senator Joker Arroyo, which indicated that there was no money sent by the DFA.

The paper was signed by Gemma Pangilinan, embassy finance officer and Walter Salmingo, an embassy official.

Bicharra said he wanted the OFWs in Lebanon to be evacuated and therefore money for this purpose should be provided to him.

On Senator Richard Gordon’s inquiry, Bicharra admitted that he wanted 1.1 million dollars for the evacuation of OFWs whose locations he said he did not know.

“As a field commander, it is my position that everyone must leave Lebanon,” said Bicharra who pointed out that as of Monday, 1,763 OFWs have left Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, since the crisis started two weeks ago.

Bicharra replied in the affirmative when Senator Franklin Drilon asked him whether he wanted control of the resources.

But Drilon, former labor secretary, said that by virtue of the Migrant Workers Act, the OWWA had the “administration, control, and supervision of the repatriation fund.

At the same Senate hearing, the Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA) proposed that the 100 million-peso emergency repatriation fund specified in the Migrant Workers Act be audited and replenished.

CMA Executive Director Ellen Sana also said that the government policy of voluntary repatriation was not acceptable.

“Not showing up at the time of evacuation does not automatically mean that the OFWs opted to stay. Perhaps they failed to show up because they did not know where it is. Perhaps their employers have not allowed them to leave and yet the employers are hesitant or refuse to feel responsible for them,” Sana said.

Sana said the embassy should start working on a registry of OFWs and locate them.

Citing Section 15 of Republic Act 8042, Sana pointed out that the 100 million pesos must initially come from the OWWA, and subsequently replenished by the Office of the President.

“However, as of the last time, we inquired about the funds, OWWA Administrator Roque said that the initial 100 million pesos had already been used up and that OWWA had been advancing further requests for repatriation costs of distressed OFWs,” she said.

After the hearing, Drilon said what he learned was: “They are fighting over the golden rule; whoever has the gold rules. Nag-aagawan sila kung sino ang maghahawak ng pera [They are fighting over who will manage the funds]. So if OWWA has the gold, OWWA rules.”

Reacting to Ermita’s letter, Drilon said the purpose of the hearing was to look into the Migrant Workers’ Act.

“Contrary to the statement of the executive secretary, there is really a need to look at these laws. Because you have a one-country approach under the Migrant Workers' Act, which says that the ambassador has control; whereas the repatriation fund should be under the control of OWWA. So here is the ambassador and OWWA fighting over the golden rule. That is why the ambassador is disgusted because he cannot have control over the funds,” Drilon said.

“The OWWA is claiming and correctly, that under Section 15, it has control over the funds. We must look at this because right now, it's a mess. And you have Ambassador [Roy] Cimatu who is illegally carrying the title of an ambassador because under the rules and under the law, you cannot have an ambassador of rank, unless you are accredited to a country. You have the bureaucracy in a mess because you place one bureaucrat on top of the other. And then you fight over the funds,” Drilon said.

In Malacañang, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said lawmakers would have to lay down the “parameters” by which congressional inquiries would be conducted.

Bunye said this was based on a Supreme Court decision on Executive Order 464, which had previously banned officials from the executive branch from attending legislative inquiries.

Bunye said this was the first time that they were invoking the Supreme Court ruling since it came out.

Bunye said although they were not invoking EO 464 per se, the Supreme Court ruling recognizes "that there are certain conditions under which members of executive may attend the legislative hearing."

In its ruling, the high tribunal compels these officials to attend the inquiries provided they were “in aid of legislation.”

Malacañang has filed a reconsideration on the Supreme Court ruling. The court has yet to issue a decision.

Although they failed to attend the Senate hearing, Roque, Brion and Conejos were at the Palace during a 1:30 p.m. press conference.

Asked whether snubbing the investigation would raise more suspicion on how the 7.6-billion OWWA funds were being spent, Roque said, "We have nothing to hide," adding that their books are regularly audited.

Asked anew if they were willing to attend future hearings, Roque said "Yes, but based on our meeting today, we just have to establish our predicates first so that we have ample time to present the report on the expenditures on Lebanon."

Brion said the OWWA was set to approve Tuesday additional 300 million pesos in standby fund for the expenses related to the evacuation of Filipinos from Lebanon.

OWWA had authorized the release of 200 million pesos for evacuation, added Brion, who chairs the OWWA board.

“What we have is a calibrated response that is why we are releasing up to 200 million pesos. Now that there are questions on the funds, I can call the OWWA board and tell them to authorize 500 million pesos and, if needed, to have the money released immediately,” Brion said in Filipino.

In a statement released by his office, Brion reiterated that the OWWA was not hoarding funds.

The OWWA has spent 1.5 million dollars for the evacuation and repatriation of OFWs from Lebanon to the Philippines since July, Brion said.

Brion said the amount represented more than 37.5 percent of the four million dollars allocated by the agency for the evacuation and repatriation of OFWs from Lebanon.

He said that the amount was used mainly in paying for the transportation, which covered bus and plane fares of the OFWs from the evacuation site in Lebanon to their arrival in Manila.

Brion added that some of the repatriates were even placed in business class in commercial flights since it was very difficult to get economy plane seats as people in Lebanon scrambled to be flown out.

“The OWWA and the DoLE [Department of Labor and Employment] are exhausting all means to bring home the OFWs in Lebanon who had registered and expressed their desire to be repatriated with our embassy in Beirut,” he said.

Brion explained that OWWA was spending the more than eight billion-peso funds generated out of the contributions of OWWA members “judiciously” to ensure the sustainability of the fund and the continued provision of programs and services to the OFWs and their dependents.

Meanwhile, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will ask Congress to pass a 500 million-peso supplemental budget for the evacuation of Filipinos in Lebanon, according to Albay Representative Joey Salceda, her economic adviser at the House of Representatives.

Salceda, chairman of the appropriations committee, said the President would submit the proposal, which is on top of the 46.4 billion –peso supplemental budget, on Tuesday.

"I think Congress will quickly approve the 500 million pesos [because] we can’t compromise national interest simply because of some individual's desire to stay in Lebanon," Salceda said in a press briefing.

He said it was just proper that the government got its funding from the general appropriations since the 7.6 million-peso budget of OWWA was for eight million Filipinos abroad and not only for evacuees in Lebanon.

"The OWWA fund does not belong only to the Lebanon OFWs. It belongs to eight million OFWs," Salceda said.

"I think this is a correct use of government [fund] because the national economy has been benefiting from OFWs remittances as a whole and individually," he pointed out.

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