DFA cancels ex-AFP chief Cimatu’s mission to Egypt

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Sunday said former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief and current Special Envoy to the Middle East Roy Cimatu is no longer proceeding to Egypt and is on his way back to the Philippines. DFA spokesperson Ed Malaya said the department already has “sufficient people on the ground" assisting Filipinos amid violent protest actions in Cairo. Malaya, however, chose not to comment when asked if Cimatu’s trip back to the Philippines has anything to do with allegations that the former military chief received pay-offs from AFP funds. “Special Envoy Roy Cimatu is no longer proceeding to Cairo… He completed his mission in Afghanistan and is on the way back home," Malaya said in a text message to reporters on Sunday night. He added that the Philippine Embassy in Cairo, led by Charge D’Affaires Ed Maglaya, is already “doing a fine job in fully taking care of our nationals there." At least 300 people have been killed in violent anti-government protests in Cairo since last week, seeking to end President Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade rule of the African country. (See: Mubarak govt aims to get Egyptians back to work) As of Sunday afternoon, about 26 of the more than 6,000 Filipinos in Cairo and Alexandria have already been repatriated by the DFA due to ongoing protest actions in Egypt. Last Thursday, former AFP fund manager George Rabusa said in a Senate hearing that Cimatu received a P80 million “pabaon" (send-off money) upon his retirement from military service. – MRT/KBK, GMA News