Malaysian help sought for orderly repatriation

The Philippines has requested Malaysia to allow the return of Filipino illegal immigrants in "more manageable batches", as government officials in Manila map out measures to cushion the social impact brought about by the influx of returning nationals.

Philippine Labour Secretary Patricia Santo Tomas said that President Gloria Arroyo has already asked Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed for "humane treatment" of undocumented Filipinos being deported from the Sabah province to southern Philippines.

Arroyo coursed her formal request to visiting Malaysian Minister, Bernard Giluk Dompok, of the office of the prime minister.

"The president took the occasion to ask for assistance for the orderly repatriation of those deported to our country so that they won't be coming here in bulk," Santo Tomas explained.

Apart from Arroyo's personal request, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople is also now in Kuala Lumpur to discuss the same issue with Malaysian officials.

An estimated 80,000 Filipinos are staying illegally in Malaysia and at least 18,000 of them have either been arrested by authorities there and are being detained for repatriation, or have taken measures to return to the Philippines on their own.

"If they come in bulk, this becomes more difficult for the areas where they land. So we're trying to ask that they at least come home in batches of about 200 so that it will be easier to document them and take care of their requirements," she added.

As Santo Tomas issued the statement, an additional 450 Filipinos, who fled the crackdown in Malaysia against illegal aliens, arrived in southern Philippines' Zamboanga City yesterday morning.

The new arrivals further swelled the rising number of several thousands of Filipinos from Malaysia as Zamboanga City officials fear a social volcano erupting in their midst.

"We need to find ways to address this issue; Zamboanga City alone cannot take in all those returning," Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Clara Lobregat said in an interview by state television IBC-13.

Apart from crowding the already overpopulated Zamboanga City, concerns have already been raised by military and government officials over the hazards faced by those returning to their home country before Malaysia goes allout in its crack-down by August 31.

Although the Philippine government has sent navy transport vessels and commercial ships to Malaysia's port city of Sandakan to ferry them home, these are not enough to carry all of them.

Some illegal Filipino immigrants in Sabah are risking their lives by crowding into small cargo boats to escape the Malaysian crackdown, said naval Lt. Carlos Sabarre, who is based in Zamboanga City.

In Manila, the government is trying to address the potential labour problems posed by the sudden influx of returning Filipinos.

An official statement said the government has adopted a special employment programme for Filipinos who have been displaced from their jobs in Sabah.

The statement quoted Santo Tomas as saying that two strategies have been worked out to address the problem of the displaced Filipinos – first, to prevent the deportation of Filipinos who are still in Sabah by arranging for their regular employment there; and second, to provide alternative employment or livelihood to those who are already in the Philippines.

Santo Tomas noted that Ople will also ask the Malaysian government to allow Filipinos now in Sabah to stay there longer while jobs are being negotiated for them.