Rebutting her critics, Ms Arroyo also said: “With over one million OFWs [Overseas Filipino Workers] in the Middle East and over 8 million [worldwide], my government has a deep national interest in their well being, wherever they live and work.”
The circumstances of De la Cruz’s release were still unclear. But the announcement that he was finally free came a day after the last Filipino soldiers deployed to Iraq 11 months ago withdrew from that embattled country, after his captors had threatened to behead him. (more)
And with his release, New York Times came out with an editorial , “A Filipino Retreat,” which described President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s decision to pull out as a “victory” for terrorists.
It was a hard decision, I’m sure. The US government can criticize all they want. They don’t have millions of citizens in the Middle East whose lives are at stake.
