Philippine President Gloria Arroyo apologised yesterday for an aide who slapped a male overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who tried to kiss her while she was outside the Emir's palace in Kuwait on Sunday afternoon.
Addressing relatives of OFWs who welcomed her home yesterday morning, Arroyo said: "Maybe you have a male OFW relative who tried to steal a kiss from me, and one of my aides parried him. If he is one of your relatives, please accept my apology."
"It is not in our culture that a man can kiss a woman any time," Arroyo explained.
After arriving at 7.45am, the president went straight to Roxas Boulevard's Philippine Internati-onal Trade Centre to hand over to relatives hundreds of letters from the OFWs whom she met in Kuwait.
Like a professional radio announcer engaged in public service, Arroyo announced a message from Ana del Carpio, who wanted her son, Francis, and her friend, Cory Ramos, to know she is safe in Mubarak Hospital.
"I am airing this message to Francis and Cory," President Arroyo said.
She identified another letter writer, Mercy Palmenco, who had a message for her sister, Bella Garcia. "Sorry, I have read her letter because it was open. She said she wanted to say hello to her relatives, especially to her mother. She wanted them to know that she is safe in Kuwait," said President Arroyo.
"I have many letters with me and I will be sending them to the indicated addresses when I am back at the presidential palace," she promised.
In case the U.S.-led forces launch an attack on Iraq, about 60 Filipinos in Iraq will be evacuated by land to Amman, Jordan, which is about 10 hours away from Baghdad. Only 6,000 - or 10 per cent of 60,000 OFWs - said they wanted to leave Kuwait. Earlier, 90 per cent - or 54,000 of the 60,000 OFWs - said they refused to leave Kuwait.
Of the 1.5 million OFWs in the Middle East, about 150,000 who reside along the Saudi Arabian border with Iraq will be in the line of fire.
"We're prepared to spend all the resources available to keep them safe," the president stated. In a statement from the palace, Arroyo expressed her happiness that "the Kuwaiti authorities released 22 OFWs in Kuwaiti jails".
"They (Kuwaiti authorities) also promised to repatriate some 200 OFWs who recently ran away from their employers," she said.
Gulf News 2003
