Filipinos hostaged by Somali pirates with 22 Filipino lives hanging on the balance…. Red Cross volunteers hostaged by the Abu Sayyaf with threats of execution and a major international incident… urgent, untried, and the most comprehensive poll automation…. her Chacha…. her 2010…. and the President chooses—- guess what? Dubai:
From Ellen Tordesillas’s blog at http://www.ellentordesillas.com/?p=5075#more-5075 ‘What lures Arroyo to Dubai?’
an article by Jocelyn Montemayor, excerpts:
Quote “(Ms. Gloria Macapagal-) Arroyo flew Saturday to Dubai from Thailand where protests prompted the cancellation of the Asean summit that Arroyo was to attend.
Quote “ Last January, Arroyo also made a stopover in Dubai from Davos, Switzerland, on the way to an unscheduled side trip to Washington.
Quote “ A month earlier, she checked on the conditions of the Filipinos working in Dubai after her visit to Qatar.
Quote “ Arroyo arrived early yesterday from Abu Dhabi to where she proceeded after announcing some 200,000 job opportunities for Filipinos during a jobs fair in Dubai Sunday.
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Quote “ The reports noted Arroyo has been frequenting Dubai especially since the financial crisis in the United States hit hard Lehman Brothers and Merryl Lynch, said to be her family’s favorite investment managers.
Quote “ The frequent trips to Dubai were noticed also after a chartered plane bringing Arroyo and her delegation to Peru via San Francisco in November last year had to turn back because presidential spouse Mike Arroyo had diarrhea.
Quote “ Mr. Arroyo allegedly had to be made to disembark from the plane because he would reportedly be invited for questioning by US authorities about his accounts with Lehman Brothers.
Quote “(Makati mayor and UNO president Jejomar) Binay said the Palace claims of new jobs do not coincide with the sentiments of the recruitment industry which he said foresees fewer job openings in traditional Middle East markets.
Quote “ “There is no rhyme or reason for the trips to Dubai if the only purpose is to look for jobs. Unless she presents a valid and logical explanation, these Dubai visits are a waste of taxpayers’ money,” he said.
Quote “ He also said while there may be job openings in some Middle East markets, there are no guarantees that these jobs will be reserved only for Filipinos.
Quote “ “Filipinos will have to compete with other nationalities for these jobs, and even the recruitment industry is saying that the government needs to make our OFWs more competitive by providing them with new skills to meet new demands,” he said.
Quote “ Binay said the Palace should be more cautious in “raising false hopes” of new job openings in the Middle East.
Quote “ “With the economic crisis, more and more people are pinning their hopes on overseas employment as a way out of poverty. As a result, they may easily fall prey to illegal recruiters, and even illegal practices of some agencies,” he said.
Quote “ Arroyo arrived at 2:35 a.m. yesterday from Abu Dhabi, bringing with her the commitment of the UAE government to support the peace efforts between the government and the Muslim rebels in Mindanao, Remonde said.
Quote (Palace spokesperson Cerge) Remonde said Abu Dhabi King Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, assured Arroyo that the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the investment arm of the UAE government, is “seriously studying” Philippine investment proposals submitted earlier by Trade Secretary Peter Favila.
Quote “ Khalifa also gave the assurance his country would continue to hire Filipinos, Remonde said.
Quote “ Remonde said the President’s trip both to the UAE and Thailand were fruitful, as shown by the more than 200,000 job openings secured for Filipinos in the Gulf and North African region.
Quote “ He said the job openings in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Algeria, Libya and Bahrain were secured from 16 employers during the jobs summit in Dubai. He said this is in addition to the commitment of a Kuwaiti firm to proceed with its planned investment in the Philippines soon.
Quote “ “This is a very healthy sign that despite losses in some areas, specifically Taiwan, we are opening new job markets abroad. And precisely this is the objective of the mission of the President. She precisely went to the Middle East in order to ensure that there will be new job openings for overseas Filipino workers, and this is still part of her job generation program,” he said. – Jocelyn Montemayor closed-quote.
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