| Subject: Filipino companies Assured Of Contracts In Post-War Iraq |
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Date Posted: 21:21:01 04/09/03 Wed
Filipino companies Assured Of Contracts In Post-War Iraq
By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent
KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 (IslamOnline.net) - The Philippines are ready to fight for a share in the rebuilding of Iraq, with several Manila based firms aiming for lucrative contracts, in several sectors ranging from manpower supply to oil for food and medicine for food agreements with the US military command in the aftermath of the war on Iraq.
Sources in Manila say this will be part of the promises made to the Filipino regime of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who
gave her formal and full support for the removal of Saddam Hussein and his regime in the Middle Eastern nation.
Manpower agencies are also busy registering the names of Filipino overseas workers who are ready to take up jobs
in Iraq , particularly in the security and construction sectors as well as in hospitals and oil sector after the announcement of the new government in Iraq.
Supporting the U.S. will bring windfall gains to Manila based companies, many of these companies are said to be U.S. owned or financed or companies already doing business with US based firms.
The Filipino support to the U.S. will also bring more U.S. troops to southern Philippines in order to support the government’s war against “terrorism”, to deal with separatism and to exploit the resources of the Muslim held territories in Mindanao .
A Moro source told IslamOnline.net Monday, April 7, that this will be the legacy that Arroyo intends to leave when she finally bows from office in 2004, and that supporting the U.S. in its war against Iraq would have significant economic benefits to the Manila regime.
Filipinos are also fighting along side the U.S. soldiers in Iraq on the promises that they will be given the U.S. green card or will be naturalized U.S. citizens after the war in recognition for their sacrifice in the war.
Their families may also be given access to the U.S. , granted the green card or simply be naturalized. Almost all of those engaged in the war in Iraq are of Christian faith and may be posted in Iraq to ensure security at oil fields after the war, the Moro source said.
The Filipino government will also be given specific and substantiated contracts, undetermined at this stage, in order to facilitate its economy to spearhead and grow while it benefits from its stance taken by Arroyo in the war on Iraq .
These contracts will be decided upon in the coming weeks and will have to do with the reconstruction of Iraq . Supply of raw materials, finished goods and other products from the Philippines will be given due consideration.
Filipino government agencies will also be engaged in the reconstruction efforts that will be underway in regions already captured and secured by the military, IslamOnline was told by the same source.
This is in deep contrast in both Indonesia and Malaysia where there were little hope of obtaining any contracts from the U.S. after their opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of the Middle Eastern country.
A manpower agency in Jakarta said they were not prepared to enroll workers, mostly maids or nurses as well as construction workers to obtain jobs in Iraq after the war. There was no reason for the agency to believe that Indonesia will have any share in the “post war Iraq ” reconstruction efforts.
In Kuala Lumpur , several Malaysian companies are complaining of the lost of trade and export business with the war on Iraq . Most of these export and trading companies were doing lucrative business under the oil for food program through India and other European nations, including Britain and France .
Now that the U.S. will control Iraq , there might not be oil for food programs for these companies to deal in, Abdul Razak, an economist in Kuala Lumpur said.
http://www.islamonline.net/english/news/2003-04/08/article08.shtml
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