MANILA, Philippines—Apparently fearing reprisals against Filipino workers, the Philippines did not participate in a United Nations General Assembly vote seeking endorsement of an Arab League plan for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said.
In a text message, Del Rosario told the Inquirer on Saturday “our nationals in Syria, who are highly vulnerable, are urgently being repatriated and we are receiving assistance from the Syrian government in this effort.”
“Our primary concern right now is the welfare of our people,” said Del Rosario, who was on his way back to Manila from an official trip to Mexico.
“We are repatriating our people and we have asked the Syrian government to help. We are working together to accomplish this,” he said, adding that “for this reason, the Philippines was unable to vote for the resolution.”
The UN resolution, similar to one Russia and China vetoed on Feb. 4, received 137 votes in favor, 12 against and 17 abstentions although three countries said their votes failed to register on the electronic board.
Moscow and Beijing were among those who opposed the resolution, which was drafted by Saudi Arabia and submitted by Egypt on behalf of Arab states.
The other countries that voted on Feb. 16 against the resolution were Bolivia, Belarus, Cuba, Ecuador, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
The following abstained: Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Cameroon, Comoros, Fiji, Lebanon, Burma (Myanmar), Namibia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, St. Vincent, Suriname, Tanzania, Tuvalu, Uganda and Vietnam.
Unlike in the Security Council, there are no vetoes in the General Assembly but its decisions lack the legal force of council resolutions.
The UN measure had over 70 cosponsors and the support of more than two-thirds of the General Assembly, The Associated Press reported.
Strong message
Supporters were hoping for an overwhelming “yes” vote to deliver a strong message to Assad that he must immediately stop the crackdown on protesters and step down. The crackdown has killed over 5,400 people in the past 11 months.
In a statement, US Ambassador Susan Rice said: “Today the UN General Assembly sent a clear message to the people of Syria: The world is with you.”
She said that Assad “has never been more isolated. A rapid transition to democracy in Syria has garnered the resounding support of the international community. Change must now come.”
On Feb. 14, another 37 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) based in Homs and other protest hubs in Syria were repatriated by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
This brought to 913 the total number of OFWs in the Middle East country to be flown back to the Philippines by the DFA.
The foreign office has also deployed a “rapid response team” composed of personnel from the Philippine National Police, Department of Labor and Employment and the DFA to “help out in the extraction and repatriation of OFWs in Syria’s conflict areas,” Del Rosario said.
Raul Hernandez, the DFA spokesperson, said the foreign office was set to evacuate another 164 OFWs based in the conflict areas, where “the violence has become very alarming.”
Hernandez said they received “a total of 278 repatriation applications from the conflict areas and 222 of them were from Homs,” a city in central Syria.