OFWs: Our Angels
of the Cross
By Carlos Isagani T. Zarate

IT would have been the height of irony had the modern-day icon of the Filipino Everyman, Angelo de la Cruz, met his death, not at the hands of his Iraqi captors but at his birthplace during his much-awaited homecoming. The stony-faced De la Cruz was nearly "crushed to death" last Friday by swarming journalists, cabalens and mirons (kibitzers) upon arriving home at barangay Buenavista, Mexico, Pampanga, prompting the usually mild-mannered Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman to flare up. Soliman's outburst could have been what saved De la Cruz (who was then complaining of "masikip na dibdib" due to fatigue), and gave him a breather.

Indeed, but for the tragic death of Flor Contemplacion almost a decade ago and the heartbreaking tale of Sarah Balabagan, no other single issue involving our overseas Filipino workers had galvanized the entire nation as much as De la Cruz's ordeal. The saga of the "Angel of the Cross" underscores again not only the poignant state of our economy, which heavily depends on OFW remittances to stay afloat, but also the lopsided relationship between the Philippines, on the one hand, and the United States and other western countries, on the other.

Undeniably, President Macapagal-Arroyo scored big politically, at least in the domestic front, with her stand to pull out the Filipino contingent from Iraq. In heeding the loud and clear public clamor for the withdrawal of the Philippine mission from the mess created by the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, she redeemed herself from the lackey-like support she gave for the US-touted "war without borders." Now it can be told that the Arroyo administration's political gamble in kowtowing to the US-led "coalition of the willing" was clearly misplaced. In fact, what it got in return was a tongue-lashing from so-called allies who acted more like masters.

As President Arroyo makes her State of the Nation Address Monday, it is worth watching how the lessons from the saga of "Angel of the Cross" will come into play. Will she report the "real" state of the nation?

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US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, one of the chief architects of the US-led invasion of Iraq, said that "weakness is provocative," as he criticized the Arroyo administration's decision to pull out the 51-member Philippine contingent. Fine. At least, for the Filipinos, that wrongfully perceived weakness saved the life not only of De la Cruz but also of the many other -- some 1.5 million -- OFWs in the Middle East, including some 4,000 based in Iraq. It also spared from further danger the members of the Philippine contingent who are merely being used as pawns and proxies to cushion the impact of the increasing number of American and British casualties in an unjustified and unpopular war.

Yet, speaking of provocation, Father Peter Geremiah, the coordinator of the Tribal Filipino Program of the diocese of Kidapawan, finds the joint US-RP military exercises, which will start Monday in the heartland of North Cotabato, as nothing but a "provocation" for war and "not a gesture of peace."

Military officials claimed that the month-long "Balance Piston" exercise to be held at Camp Lucero of the Army's 602nd Infantry Brigade in Carmen, North Cotabato, is nothing but the "usual, run-of-the-mill training" involving "less than 50" US military trainers and "around 100" Filipino trainees.

The outspoken Geremiah, a 1999 recipient of the Aurora Aragon Peace Award, however, wondered: "If it is a minor training, why in Carmen? Why not in Camp Aguinaldo? Why here? We need a gesture of peace right now to build and promote a culture of peace," he told the Davao-based agency Mindanews.

There is wide apprehension among peace advocates in the province that the "small-scale" Carmen military training is preparatory in nature, in the event that the talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front collapse.

The US government has been openly pressuring both the Philippine government and the MILF to come up with a peace deal. Initially, the United States even dangled a 30-million-dollar development package for Mindanao once a deal is inked. Otherwise, the aid package will be returned to the US treasury and the MILF will be considered as a "terrorist organization."

Yet, despite official denials by the MILF hierarchy, the guerrilla front's name has continuously been linked by several US and Philippine military officials and think tanks to the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network.

Thus, aside from tackling other major talking points in the stalled talks being facilitated by Malaysia, some analysts believe that the terrorist-tagging may yet create another reason for the final collapse of the peace talks.

And with that will come more "small scale" military exercises in the Moroland.

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CONVENTION CITY: After the 2003 twin-bombings in Davao City, "durianburg" is slowly regaining its reputation as the convention center of the south. Early this month, the city successfully hosted the national gathering of civil engineers under the auspices of the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers. By August, it will offer the Kadayawan sa Dabaw, a festival of good harvest, at the same time playing host to the national convention of family physicians. In September, Davao will host the 13th Mindanao Business Conference to be attended by businesspersons not only from Mindanao but also from the BIMP-EAGA area. On October 7-9, 2004, for the second time in years, it will again host the Mindanao Convention of Lawyers for the island's 21 chapters of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.