Bello: Pinoy workers in Taiwan okay; no cause for alarm

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THE country’s de facto embassy in Taiwan yesterday said there is no reason for families of Filipinos working in Taiwan to worry amid increased tension in the Taiwan Strait.

Silvestre Bello III, chairperson of the Manila Economic Cultural Office (MECO) in Taipei, made the assurance also amid controversy generated by the statement made over the weekend by Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian who said if Manila cares for Filipinos working in Taiwan, it should oppose Taiwan’s drive for independence instead of giving the United States access to more military facilities under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

The Chinese Embassy on Sunday said Huang was “misquoted” and his statements were “misinterpreted.” The embassy’s reaction followed criticisms received by Huang for his statement linking the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan to China’s dispute with Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as its own.

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Bello, former labor secretary, told ANC, “I would like to assure the relatives, parents, wives or husbands of our OFWs in Taiwan that their situation there is normal. There is no cause for alarm. I will be the very first one to tell all of you should there be an emergency situation.”

“Right now there is no tension. The situation in Taiwan is very normal,” he added.

Around 200,000 Filipinos are living and working in Taiwan, and Bello said their welfare and interest are all “well-protected.”

Bello said Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor is even coordinating with its Philippine counterpart for the hiring of more Filipino teachers, and even farmers and fishermen.

“Very independent. China definitely has nothing to do with the employment of our overseas Filipino workers,” Bello said.

Bello said he does not see any “relation” between the welfare of OFWs in Taiwan and the additional EDCA sites.

“Whether the EDCA sites are there or not, the fact is China has been trying to get back Taiwan. I don’t see the relation,” he said in mixed Filipino and English.

Three of the four new EDCA sites are located in northern Luzon close to Taiwan, namely Lal-lo airport and Camilo Osias Naval Base in Cagayan province, and Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Upi Gamu, Isabela.

The fourth site is in Balabac, Palawan, near the disputed South China Sea where Beijing has constructed military facilities on artificial islands it has built.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier said the four additional EDCA sites would not be used for offensive actions.

Five sites were agreed on by the US and the Philippines when the EDCA was signed in 2014. The four additional sites were announced just last February.

Beijing objects to any international support to Taiwan, which it considers as a renegade province to be brought back to its fold, including through the use of force.

Taiwan, a democracy of more then 23 million, has been rejecting Beijing’s claim and is insisting on its readiness to defend its territory.

The Philippines, in deference to the “One-China policy,” does not have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, with relations handled by MECO in Taipei and the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Manila.

‘MISQUOTED, MISINTERPRETED’

The Chinese Embassy in Manila said Huang’s remarks about OFWs in Taiwan were misinterpreted or taken out of context.

During a forum in Manila last Friday, Huang said adding four EDCA sites does not benefit the OFWs, adding that China seeks to avoid conflict in the region.

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“The Philippines is advised to unequivocally oppose Taiwan independence rather than stoking the fire by offering the US access to military bases near the Taiwan Strait if you care genuinely for the 150, 000 OFWs,” Huang was quoted saying.

“Some tried to find excuses for the new EDCA sites by citing the safety of the 150,000 OFWs in Taiwan while China is the last country that wishes to see conflict over the Strait because people on both sides are Chinese,” he added.

It was Huang’s remarks about OFWs’ welfare that prompted a backlash, with some lawmakers even calling for him to be sent packing.

The Chinese Embassy, claiming Huang’s remarks were taken out of context, said, “It is appreciated that there was extensive coverage on Ambassador Huang Xilian’s speech at the 8th Manila Forum. Unfortunately some misquoted or misinterpreted Ambassador Huang’s remarks or simply took part of the Ambassador’s words out of context,” the embassy said in a statement Sunday night.

EVACUATION SIMULATION

Sen. Francis Tolentino yesterday said officials of the “Balikatan” military exercises between the US and the Philippines should include simulation of evacuation of OFWs in Taiwan as a precautionary measure, in case the tension in the Taiwan Strait escalates.

Tolentino, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, said sea evacuation is the most feasible type of evacuation plan for the fast repatriation of OFWs working in Taiwan since the island nation, as reported by the Washington Post on Sunday, is “highly vulnerable” to air attacks from China’s People’s Liberation Army-Air Force and “is unlikely to thwart Chinese military air superiority in a cross-strait conflict.”

He said the participation of commercial vessels in the evacuation simulation should be considered to hasten the repatriation of affected OFWs should a full-scale conflict erupt between Beijing and Taipei since an aircraft cannot carry the more than 150,000 OFWs.

He said the Philippine head of the Balikatan Exercises can include ship evacuation from Taiwan to Batanes or Cagayan “for contingency.”

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III said government should always have contingency plans for OFWs, which it can readily employ during emergency situations.

Sen. Jose Estrada said the Department of Migrant Workers has a P10.6-billion budget for emergency repatriation program that is more then enough for the repatriation of the OFWs in Taiwan “if the government is forced to have their safe return home.”

Bishop Ruperto Santos appealed to the Chinese government to exclude Filipino workers in Taiwan from any political and security issues.

Santos, vice chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said Filipino workers in Taiwan are only after the employment opportunities there.

“Our OFWs migrated for the worthy and noble cause to help, to uplift, and to improve the life and future of their families. That is the one and only reason they are willing to work abroad,” he said. — With Raymond Africa and Gerard Naval

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