Cimatu likely to remain as special envoy till June 30 — Ochoa

Despite the replacement of his Middle East Preparedness Committee by a new high-level team, special envoy Roy Cimatu will remain at his post as a special envoy to the Middle East until June 30, Malacañang said Monday. Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said Cimatu’s performance will be assessed by June 30, and it will be up to President Benigno Aquino III to decide whether to retain him. "He (was) appointed as special envoy I think until June 30. (After that), it’s a case-to-case assessment," Ochoa said in an interview on dzBB radio. Ochoa said that like all special envoys, "it’s up to the President to determine when the time comes whether to reappoint or not reappoint the special envoy." A product of the Philippine Military Academy (1970) and a former military chief, Cimatu was linked to alleged corruption in the Armed Forces by retired Lt. Col. George Rabusa, a former military budget officer. Cimatu has since denied Rabusa's allegation. New high-level team to aid OFWs On Saturday, the Palace announced the creation of a new high-level team to help overseas Filipino workers caught in conflicts or disasters in their host countries. Deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte on Sunday admitted she is not aware of what Cimatu’s status would be, following the creation of the Overseas Preparedness and Response Team (OPRT) under the Office of the President. The OPRC replaces the Presidential Middle East Preparedness Committee (PMEPC) created under the Arroyo administration and headed by Cimatu. "Ang long-term na pinaplano rito is to keep track of the number of OFWs and Filipinos going abroad who might be put in danger because of political upheavals in the host countries ... Ang data natin di masyadong accurate ang bilang. Once Filipinos go abroad sometimes we lose track of them already. Minsan nagkakaroon tayo ng drug mules. We hope to cover those areas also so mga issue na yan mga Filipinos forced to go abroad seeking greener pastures maproteksyunan natin," Ochoa said. (Our long-term plan for this is to keep track of the number of Filipinos and overseas Filipino workers going abroad who may be in danger due to political upheavals in their host countries. We want to have an accurate and updated database of Filipinos abroad. Sometimes we lose track of Filipinos who end up as drug mules. Many Filipinos are still forced to go abroad to seek greener pastures.) The high-level crisis team is tasked to draw up strategies and programs and formulate policies to appropriately respond to crisis situations affecting Filipinos abroad. It shall develop and adopt interactive operating arrangements among agencies to effect maximum coordination. Also, it may call upon any department or agency of the government or private sectors and coordinate or seek bilateral and multilateral partners for assistance in the formulation and implementation of plans, programs and policies. Under the EO, the OPRT will also establish a pool of crisis management and technical experts and trained personnel from the OPRT member-agencies to form rapid reaction teams. It will also undertake threat and environmental scanning, to ensure the safety and protection of Filipinos abroad. The OPRT is further tasked to formulate and review contingency plans for the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Pacific, the Americas, and Europe every six months. — RSJ, GMA News