Manila seeks removal of S'pore envoy
Manila seeks removal of S'pore envoy
MANILA (Reuter): The Philippines sought the removal of Singapore's ambassador to Manila because he was pushy, insensitive and underestimated the national anger at the hanging of a Filipina maid, officials said yesterday.
President Fidel Ramos said he personally asked Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong to remove ambassador Tan Sheng Chye for failing to accurately inform his government of the depth of Filipino anguish over the execution of Flor Contemplacion.
He said he also sent Goh a pile of Manila newspaper clippings and video tapes "which provide the flavor. . . of the emotion, the passion, the excitement and even the outrage of Filipinos from all walks of life".
Tan left Manila for Singapore on Tuesday evening. Singapore agreed earlier Tuesday to a Philippine government request to withdraw its ambassador from Manila.
Goh gave his agreement in a telephone conversation with Ramos.
"Singapore, in deference to the wish of President Ramos, has accordingly asked Ambassador Tan Seng Chye to return to Singapore. Ambassador Tan Seng Chye arrived in Singapore this evening," a statement from Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
"President Ramos and Prime Minister Goh agreed that the Philippines and Singapore should try to maintain their bilateral relations on an even keel," the statement said.
The statement also said the two countries agreed that their foreign ministers would work out arrangements for medical experts from both countries to re-examine the remains of Filipina maid Delia Maga, who was murdered in Singapore in 1991.
Contemplacion's execution last month plunged relations between the two countries into a crisis and prompted a threat by Manila to severe diplomatic ties.
Filipino protesters burned thousands of Singaporean flags in street demonstrations, Manila newspapers slammed Singapore's judicial system accusing it of being ruthless and brutal, and communist rebels threatened attacks on Singaporean offices and nationals.
Singapore rejected Philippine appeals and hanged Contemplacion, a mother of four, for the murder of another Filipina maid and a three-year-old Singaporean boy in 1991. She had confessed to the killings but Filipinos believe she was innocent and was tortured into admitting the crime.
"Many in the government believe that if there had been an ambassador before, other than him, who had been properly reporting on the sentiments and emotions here, it wouldn't have come to this," a senior Foreign Office official said.
"He (Tan) tended to be very arrogant and pushy, and he completely misinterpreted the feelings of the people.
"We are trying to find a way to get out of this rough patch," Foreign Secretary Roberto Romulo told reporters, referring to the strained relations between the two countries.
"At this point, they are beginning to get slightly sensitive to the feelings here."
A Philippine inquiry panel which exhumed Maga's remains said she might have been killed by a man and Contemplacion could be innocent. Singapore rejected the findings.
Ramos told his weekly news conference he was still studying demands by political and citizens' groups that he fire Romulo and Labor Secretary Nieves Confesor for allegedly not doing enough to save Contemplacion from the gallows.
"Let me just say I shall pray and meditate over all of these during the Holy Week," he said, referring to the Easter holidays in this Roman Catholic country beginning today.
"Let's just wait."