RP diplomatic ties with S'pore back on track
RP diplomatic ties with S'pore back on track
MANILA (Reuter): The Philippines and Singapore restored full diplomatic ties yesterday, eight months after a near break over the hanging of a Filipina maid.
Philippine President Fidel Ramos announced an official end to the bitter diplomatic row with the appointment of new ambassadors by each country.
"This exchange attests to the fact we have definitely placed Philippines-Singapore diplomatic relations back on the right track," Ramos said in a statement.
The two countries traditionally have been close allies in the seven-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"Our bilateral relations are now considered normalized," Ramos said.
Alberto Encomienda, a seasoned envoy with more than 20 years of diplomatic service and currently ambassador to Malaysia, will take over the post in Singapore, Ramos said.
The Philippines welcomed the designation of Simon Tensing de Cruz as Singapore's new ambassador to Manila, he said.
The two countries downgraded diplomatic ties by pulling out their ambassadors and came close to a complete break after Singapore hanged Flor Contemplacion for double murder in March last year.
The execution of the mother of four sparked nationwide protests in the Philippines even though Contemplacion had confessed to killing another Filipina maid and a four-year-old Singaporean boy in 1991.
Filipinos, claiming Contemplacion was framed, torched thousands of Singaporean flags and gave her a heroine's burial in her home town. Her story inspired three hugely successful movies.
Singaporean Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong scrapped a scheduled visit to the Philippines and the uproar caused heads to roll in Manila's foreign and labor ministries.
Ramos suspended nine diplomats and labor officials after accusations they did not do enough to protect Contemplacion's interests. Then foreign secretary Roberto Romulo was forced to resign, which prompted him to remark that his government had "gone berserk" over the affair.
The controversy over Contemplacion finally eased in July when autopsy results conducted by a panel of U.S. forensic experts backed Singaporean findings pointing to the maid as the killer.
The affair spurred an inquiry into the plight of about four million Filipinos working overseas, including 60,000 in Singapore. Most work in menial jobs, while thousands of others work as night club dancers and prostitutes.
Manila officials said they expected the government to lift a ban on the sending of maids to Singapore shortly.
"Our respective officials will pursue with added vigor their efforts to continue expanding and improving bilateral relations in all fields, most specially as regards the situation of Filipino nationals working in Singapore," Ramos said.
Ramos said the decision to appoint new ambassadors was in accordance with an agreement he reached with Goh when they met in Bangkok last month during a summit meeting of ASEAN leaders.