MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 19, 2013) – The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur said it has ramped up consular services and assistance to Filipinos in Sabah, in light of recent developments in Lahad Datu and nearby towns.
It said Vice Consul Francis Herrera and two other embassy officials left Kuala Lumpur on March 18 and have joined the humanitarian and consular teams in Lahad Datu to provide passports and travel documents to Filipinos who wish to return to the Philippines.
There are two humanitarian and consular teams, with augmentation from the Department of Foreign Affairs and other agencies, attending to the needs of Filipinos in Sabah, one in Lahad Datu and the other in Tawau.
The Philippine Overseas Labor Office also reached out and checked upon the conditions of the 1,285 Filipino workers deployed in Sabah since 2011. Labor Attaché Alicia Santos said the Filipino workers are safe.
“The humanitarian and consular teams are operating on a mobile basis, going to areas where their services are most needed. They are assisted by the Embassy’s network of Filipino community leaders in reaching out to our nationals,” Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia J. Eduardo Malaya said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
The Philippines has no permanent consular presence in Sabah, in view of issues pertaining to the territory.
Malaysia has mounted a massive offensive against a group sent by Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram to exert their historical and legal claims of Sabah, but Kuala Lumpur rejected this and fighting broke out. At least 62 of sultan’s men and 10 on the Malaysian side were killed in fierce clashes.
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