Holy Week in Mid-East for Rody
President Duterte will be embarking on state visits to three countries in the Middle East during Holy Week.
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Hjayceelyn Quintana explained in a press briefing at Malacañang that there is no deliberate attempt by Duterte to skip activities in the Philippines during Holy Week.
She said it just so happened
the schedule of leaders of the three Middle East countries made them available at this time.
“Being the office overseeing the Office of Middle East and African Affairs, I can tell you that there have been different dates that have been proposed in the past as early as last year. And for some reason, eventually, this (schedule was) mutually accepted by both parties as convenient,” Quintana said.
“There have been, I think, maybe three or four dates that were considered before as early as December, January, February. But just like in anything, when you are visiting a foreign country, there’s a lot of consultation between the two sides of what is mutually convenient for both sides,” she added.
Quintana said the President will be meeting with the heads of state of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar during his weeklong trip from April 10 to 16.
“The President’s trip to the Middle East, which objectives may be summarized by the words ‘people, progress and partnerships,’ aims to strengthen efforts for the protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare of the more than one million of our people working in those three countries,” she said.
The President also hopes to invite investors to the Philippines and usher in progress at home, and to forge stronger partnerships by elevating our political and economic cooperation with these countries to new heights.
Quintana, who heads the Office of Middle East and African Affairs, said that despite economic challenges being faced by the Gulf states, the Middle East remains an important region for the Philippines to expand economic and political ties.
She noted that the Middle East continues to be the destination of choice of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), with six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) included in the top 10 destinations in 2015.
Filipino workers in the Middle East are the second largest source of remittances with 28 percent or almost $7.6 billion remitted from the region in 2016, according to Quintana.
Duterte will first visit Riyadh from April 1012 where he will meet with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud, Quintana said.
He will proceed to Manama, Bahrain from April 12-14 where he is scheduled to meet with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
The final leg of his trip will be in Doha from April 14-16 where he is slated to meet with the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad AlThani.
“He will discuss with these leaders matters relevant to the welfare and dignity of the Filipinos living in their countries as well as explore avenues for economic and political cooperation,” Quintana said.
The President is expected to witness the signing of several agreements on labor, agriculture, air services, culture, health and political bilateral consultations.
In terms of economic cooperation, Quintana said the President is expected to explore partnerships in tourism development, halal food security, Islamic finance and energy security while in political cooperation, the President is keen on seeking partnerships in security, counterterrorism and combating illicit drugs.
“He will also invite these countries to invest, particularly in Mindanao as a way of lifting Mindanao out of both poverty and conflict,” she added.
While in the Middle East, Duterte will also meet the Filipino communities there.
In Saudi Arabia, there are 760,000 Filipinos. In Bahrain, there are about 60,000 while in Qatar, around 250,000.
“The President hopes that through the stronger partnerships he will forge during this visit, he can tap into the over $500 billion combined investment capital of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the State of Qatar and bring home more investments and jobs for our people,” Quintana said.
On the other hand, Duterte had been briefed about the status of 31 OFWs facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, she added.
Quintana said it is up to the President to decide to raise the matter during his bilateral talks with Saudi officials.
“As far as the Department of Foreign Affairs is concerned, we have given data on that. In Saudi Arabia, for example, there’s about 31, I think, on death row and we are constantly monitoring their cases. And I think in Bahrain there’s one and in Qatar, there’s none,” Quintana said.
Quintana said the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs is handling the cases, some of which have been described as “very complex.” Most involve murder charges.