RP completes pullout from Iraq

RP completes pullout from Iraq

Stuart Grudgings, Reuters/Manila

The last group of Philippine humanitarian troops to leave Iraq arrived in Kuwait on Monday, after the government gave in to militants holding a Filipino hostage, straining its alliance with Washington.

There was no word on kidnapped truck driver Angelo de la Cruz, last seen in a video shown by Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera on Thursday in which he said he would be coming home.

A Philippine embassy official in Kuwait told Reuters the 34 humanitarian military soldiers joined 11 who arrived on Friday.

Of the first group that left Iraq, mission head Brig. Gen. Jovito Palparan has already gone on to Manila, arriving early on Monday on a commercial flight from Kuwait.

The withdrawal meets a deadline of July 20 -- a month before the Philippine team's mandate ran out -- set by militants who abducted de la Cruz and had threatened to behead him.

Six troops out of the 51-strong contingent were drafted into the Baghdad Philippine embassy's security staff.

"I am happy to be back," Palparan told reporters at Manila international airport. "Our troops back there are all okay."

Nearly two weeks after de la Cruz was abducted while driving fuel into Iraq from Saudi Arabia, relatives in his village of Buenavista north of Manila were optimistic he would be home soon.

"We just hope that the Iraqi militants will keep their promise of releasing Angelo since the humanitarian contingent have already pulled out," said Beth, one of his sisters.

In the latest video tape, the 46-year-old father of eight wore a polo shirt and looked in good health. In previous tapes he sat in front of gunmen and was dressed in an orange jumpsuit similar to those worn by other foreign hostages, some of them later beheaded.

De la Cruz's family and friends have prepared a warm welcome, tying yellow ribbons around the village. A local construction firm is building the impoverished family a new house.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's decision to withdraw has drawn criticism from the United States and other allies, who have said it sets a bad precedent for giving in to hostage-takers.

Analysts say the move is unlikely to derail Manila's close alliance with Washington, although the relationship has been strained and it may result in a slowing of U.S. aid.

Arroyo's support ratings following her May election victory seem unlikely to be dented at home by the end of a deployment that was not particularly popular.

Left-wing groups had staged small but noisy protests calling for the withdrawal, and Arroyo faced broad pressure to secure de la Cruz's release as he became a symbol of the 8 million Filipinos working abroad to support families back home.

"Had the president allowed de la Cruz to be beheaded, she would have sent the wrong signal," columnist Neal H. Cruz wrote in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

"The message: that the government really doesn't care for the OFWs (overseas Filipino workers). That calling them heroes is only lip service."

Iraq -- Page 12