Riyadh labor attaché preventively suspended, responds to accusations

Riyadh Labor Attaché Nasser Mustafa has been placed under preventive suspension after he filed a cyberlibel case against a Filipino couple in Saudi Arabia, the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh announced.

“The recommendation to recall is based on acts committed by Mustafa that are  inimical to the national interest, i.e. to serve and protect the rights and welfare of Filipinos overseas,” it said in a statement.

Last year, Mustafa filed a cyberlibel complaint against a husband and wife who worked for recruitment agencies in Saudi Arabia after they accused him of sexual harassment and bribery. 

The embassy said the filing “directly violated the mandate of all Philippine government officials assigned at Foreign Service Posts to protect the welfare of Filipinos overseas.”

It added that Mustafa filed the charge without informing Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Adnan Alonto, or seeking approval from the Department of Foreign Affairs beforehand, “which undermined the One Country-Team Approach.”

Mustafa was also accused of causing confusion among Saudi authorities since his view on the cyberlibel case differed from that of the embassy, compromising “the credibility of the Philippine government’s commitment to protecting its own nationals residing within the Kingdom.”

The embassy also said an employee of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), who was under the command responsibility of Mustafa, made a Facebook post on the POLO’s page that “once again undermined the One Country-Team Approach.”

Under the one country-team approach, all Philippine government workers posted abroad are required to act as a “one country-team with a mission under the leadership of the ambassador.”

Mustafa responds

In a briefing hosted by the Department of Labor and Employment, Mustafa admitted that he did not inform Alonto that he was going to file a cyberlibel case against the couple.

“Totoo ‘yung sinabi ni ambassador [na] I did not ask his permission. But I asked the permission of the department natin. So hindi ako nanghingi sa kanya because ang nasa isip ko noon, this is personal,” he said.

“Hindi ako gumamit ng facility ng embassy or ng POLO. It’s on my own, together with my lawyer… ‘Yun ang nasa isip ko, na this is personal. Why should I ask permission?”

Mustafa also said he was in the Philippines during the time that the alleged sexual harassment incident took place.

He also lamented how he was not given the opportunity to explain himself before he was preventively suspended.

“Sabi nila, ‘this is inimical to the national interest.’ Para sa akin naman, hindi naman siguro ‘yun kasi buhay ko ang sinira ng isang tao… Totoo naman ‘yun, tayo ang nagpoprotekta sa kanila (OFWs). Pero this time, ako ang sinira nila,” he said.

The labor attache said he was okay with being replaced.

The POLO’s current officer in charge, Assistant Labor Attaché Henry Tianero, will take over pending the appointment of a new labor attache.—LDF, GMA News