PHL officials deny blocking POEA nomination of ex-OFW

Philippine officials in Saudi Arabia over the weekend denied claims they are blocking the appointment of a former overseas Filipino worker to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration board. Ambassador Ezzedin Tago said he had not received any request from Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz for background information or comment on Dr. Mohd Ali Carlito Astillero, who claimed his nomination was blocked. “I assure you the Philippine Embassy had not received any request from Secretary Baldoz of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on your appointment as POEA board member,” Tago said in an email to Astillero, according to a report on Arab News. He added he did not also know that Astillero was a candidate for the position. Astillero had left the Kingdom for good last year after working for 25 years in a local hospital in Riyadh. “Before blaming or pointing the finger at any person, I would like to verify first if anyone from the other agencies in Riyadh had received such a request or sent an unsolicited comment or reservation on your appointment,” Tago said. The Arab News report said Astillero had claimed he was "shocked" to hear from Baldoz during a meeting last March 14 that the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh was opposing his appointment to the POEA Board. Astillero pointed out the embassy had honored him as Outstanding Filipino in Saudi Arabia in 1990. “The hospital I was working for was one of the best hospitals in Saudi Arabia, giving wages on time and all benefits,” he added. He said it was unfair for the embassy staff to report to the POEA Governing Board through Baldoz that he had not done anything to resolve cases of complaints involving the hospital's with Filipino staff. But he said that if there was really a report to the POEA from a member of the Philippine Embassy, he knew Tago did not have anything to do with it. — LBG, GMA News