OFWs in Saudi support calls for transparent Senate


By Florante Catanus, ABS-CBN Middle East News Bureau


AL-KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia – Filipinos in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia shared their take on the issue of cash gifts in the Philippine Senate.
“Dapat kung ano man ang natipid nilang ‘yon dapat isauli sa treasury dahil pwedeng magamit ‘yon sa ibang departamento ng gobyerno katulad ng education, katulad ng health kung saan kinukulang ng budget ang mga ‘yon at mapakinabangan talaga nila yong pera” said Eduardo Rodriguez a parts manager in Damman.
Rodriguez was reacting to news reports that Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile gave some senators P1.6 million as additional maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE).
For Ben Pujeda, a freelance photographer in Al-Khobar, the money should have been given to the poor and to the victims of natural calamities in the Philippines.
“Dapat ang perang ‘yan na kay Enrile ay ipinamigay po sa mga mahihirap na nangangailangan lalo po yong mga dinaanan ng kalamidad at ‘yon pong ating mga senador na pinagbigyan niya, kung totoo man yon, may mga pera na po ‘yan. Sana po makita nila yong hindi kumakain at hindi nakakatikim ng kapirasong kahit isang hiwang manok,” said Pujeda.
Al-Khobar supervisor Bong Gonzales sided with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano’s call for a private firm to audit the Senate.
“Para sa akin, agree ako na ipa-audit sa private firm para maging transparent sa taumbayan kung saan napupunta ang pera ng Senado,” he said.
The OFWs could only hope that the issue will be resolved soon to prevent it from tainting the image of the Senate.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more