What’s Tiglao’s grudge vs Akbayan partylist

We from Kasapi Hellas, an organization composed of overseas Filipino workers in Greece, would like to lay bare to one and all what Rigoberto Tiglao holds against Akbayan, which explains his successive attacks against the party-list group, including his latest (“Akbayan case: a test for Comelec’s integrity,” Inquirer, 11/8/12).

On Oct. 10, 2010, Kasapi and other migrant Filipinos banded together to campaign for Tiglao’s ouster as the Philippines’ ambassador to Greece for failing to serve the Filipino community and protect OFWs’ rights and welfare in that country. With the help of Akbayan, we succeeded.

It’s ironic that Tiglao finds fault with an honest political party that fully disclosed its campaign contributors but sees nothing wrong with (and even felt entitled to) a lavish lifestyle funded by taxpayers’ money during his stint as ambassador.

Of the five ambassadors the Philippine government has sent to Greece, Tiglao, a Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo loyalist, lived the most lavish lifestyle. His house was in a posh village located in the suburbs of Athens. The monthly rent was anywhere between P30,000 and P60,000.  He was frequently seen touring fabulous sites such as the island of Corfu. He also relished riding in a chauffeured Mercedez-Benz all over Greece, grossly inconsiderate of the Filipino driver who was always overworked and deprived of time for his family even on weekends.

While Tiglao hobnobbed with Greek elites, he snubbed the OFWs and our problems. Under his leadership, consular services were expensive but poor in quality. When the economic crisis hit Greece, OFWs, who found themselves either with lost jobs or reduced salaries, asked Tiglao to reduce costs of consular services to ease their financial burden. Tiglao merely turned a deaf ear to our plea.

Also, he did nothing when we appealed to him to join us in our fight against drug syndicates that brought in illegal drugs from the Philippines and victimized Filipino youth in Greece.

He was missing in action when Kasapi, Akbayan and friends and supporters in Greece lobbied to save 12 Filipino seafarers marooned in a floating prison, although he was the first to laud the seafarers’ release in the media.

Instead of addressing our discontent with effective action, Tiglao chose to foment rifts among OFWs by currying favors with a select few.

I reiterate, Ambassador Tiglao provided terrible service to OFWs. On this alone, he has no moral stature to challenge the integrity of the Commission on Elections or even that of Akbayan.

We are not surprised that Tiglao rides on Comelec’s efforts to cleanse the partylist system as a platform to get back at Akbayan. However, it’s utterly shameful for him to use this issue for his personal vendetta against a political party that succeeded where he had failed—in serving the interests of Filipino people.

—JOE VALENCIA, president,

MERCEDITAS CANILLAS, vice president,

REYNALDO STA. MARIA, vice president,

AURORA TABANGIN, secretary general,

Kaisahan Ng Migranteng Pilipino Sa Gresya (Kasapi Hellas), Athens Labor Center, 3rd Septembriou 48B, Athens, Greece