It pays to publicize

May 1, 2008  --  Got something to say?
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The Philippine embassy in Washington D.C., through the Assistance to Nationals (ATN) office headed by Sofronio R. Cortel, has assured Filipinos in the United States that it’s always ready, in partnership with the Filipino American community and NGOs, to assist Filipinos in distress.
The embassy issued the statement last month to deny the allegation of the Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC) that embassy officials were abdicating their role to help Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and leaving everything in the hands of the Filipino American community. Cortel said this was not true. He listed the hundreds of cases in which the embassy helped Filipinos in the United States last year. He added these were all done “without any publicity.”
Cortel, in an obvious reference to the MHC charge, said that “instead of tearing each other down, we should join hands in lifting our kababayans up.” “We are ready and willing to coordinate and collaborate with them (the community), wherever and whenever appropriate,” he added.
He recalled that last year three MHC officials asked the embassy for “funeral, administrative and financial help” for the repatriation of the body of Irene Apao, the teacher who committed suicide in Maryland. He said that “since their (MHC) request was so broad and encompassing and aware of Philippine Government’s guidelines and limitations in availing Assistance to National (ATN) fund, I requested them to send another letter containing information on expenses incurred, preferably with some documents.” But he said the revised MHC request still did not mention the specific amount needed for repatriation expenses and donors’ contributions intended for repatriation of Irene’s body, a requirement by the home office for the disbursement of funds. Because of this, the request was denied,” Cortel said.
He also stressed that the embassy is careful when it comes to fund-raising activities in the community. He said the embassy declined to co-sponsor the MHC’s fund- raising activities “because it does not want its name to be dragged on money controversies in case irregularities on the handling of funds may surface in the future.”
We applaud the embassy for its stand on the issue of requests for assistance without complying with home office rules. But we disagree with its “without any publicity” policy on the things that it’s doing for Filipino nationals in the US. The ‘do nothing’ charge against the embassy may have been the result of this policy, of the community not knowing what it’s doing.
With the number of Filipinos working in the metropolitan area steadily increasing, it is imperative that the embassy keep the community informed of its policy towards helping nationals in distress.

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Posted by News Team | Filed Under Editorial 

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