Palace skirts OWWA fund controversy

NEWS - BREAKING NEWS

July 28, 2006 Updated 21:53:24 (Mla time) Lira Dalangin-Fernandez INQ7.net THE OPPOSITION should stop “muckraking and grandstanding” on the issue involving the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) funds, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s spokesman said Friday, as he skirted claims that there was not enough money for the evacuation of Filipinos in strife-torn Lebanon. Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said what was important right now was to bring back the Filipino workers and ensure the safety of those who would choose to stay in Lebanon. Reacting to a move by some senators to investigate claims that funds for the ongoing evacuation of Filipinos from Lebanon were inadequate, Bunye told reporters in a weekly forum at the Ambassador Hotel in Manila that "at this time, investigations would be counterproductive." "The least we can afford is grandstanding and muckraking which will only get in the way of the evacuation efforts," he said in a separate statement. Pro-opposition Senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada said he would conduct an investigation into claims that OWWA lacked funds to repatriate Filipinos out of Lebanon. This stemmed from Philippine Ambassador to Beirut Al Francis Bicharra’s allegation that the embassy had run out of funds to send the Filipinos back to the Philippines, which Foreign Affairs and Palace officials had refuted. Estrada questioned why the President only released 150 million pesos when the OWWA had 7.6 billion pesos. Arroyo has ordered the release of 150 million pesos on top of the 500,000 dollars that had been released for evacuation. Asked if there was no anomaly in the use of the OWWA fund, Bunye said there would be enough time for this later. Bunye said the government wanted "zero casualty" and was prepared to take "all necessary steps" to keep Filipinos out of harm's way. "The President has clear standing orders to our Lebanon crisis team to mobilize all necessary resources possible to ensure the safety of our workers," he said. Bunye said glitches in the release of funds were being ironed out even as the government was accelerating the evacuation, relief, and transport activities. "We are not taking any chances and we are fully aware of the fluidity of the situation and the need to be always prepared," Bunye said. (One dollar = 51.628 pesos)

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