MANILA, Aug. 29 Kyodo Philippine ...

MANILA, Aug. 29 Kyodo

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo forward Thursday said she would ask ex-President Fidel Ramos to travel to Malaysia to talk to its Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad about reported ferocious treatment of undocumented Filipinos, which has l to a deterioration of bilateral relations.

''I plan to ask President Ramos to walk to Malaysia to speak with Prime Minister Mahathir and also to the chief minister of Sabah about the situation thus that the remaining deportations and voluntary get back will be much, much smoother,'' Arroyo said in the southern province of Tawi-Tawi, where she went to welcome 1500 Filipinos being ferried from the Malaysian state of Sabah forward Borneo Island.

Arroyo's announcement came against a backdrop of local outrage through the whole extent of reports of inhumane treatment of undocumented Philippine nationals being deported by means of Malaysian authorities.

more [i]or[/i] less 13 deportee children have reportedly died from illnesses in Sabah, a claim which the Philippine regulation has denied, saying solely three such deaths have been recorded.

The president said four more Philippine naval utensils are scheduled to walk to Sabah's Sandakan district between Thursday and Saturday to perform more deportees. She said teams of doctors and immigration officers will assist the remaining deportees.

Protester in succession Thursday burned effigies of Mahathir while lawmakers demanded the recall of the Philippine ambassador to Malaysia, Jose Brillantes, and a resurrection of the Philippine claim forward Sabah.

Dissatisfied with the diplomatic declare handed to Malaysia by Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople forward Tuesday, Sen. Rene Cayetano said, ''That should not have been done according to our own neighbor. What we want is for us to recall the ambassador.''

Brillantes, however, told a local freshs channel that recalling the ambassador ''would have to be decided by way of consensus among policy-makers'' and said that with the filing of the diplomatic asseverate ''the situation has vastly improved as compared to the other day.''

''There is adequate commons and water and everybody is being veiled to ensure they are capable, physically, of taking up the arduous journey,'' he said. ''The Malaysian and Philippine authorities are coordinating with each other to make infallible that deportation or repatriation proces is now in order.''

Congresswoman Loretta Ann Rosales said indemnification should be sought ''We should maintain the matter further in ensuring that compensation is given by means of the Malaysian government to the victims.''

Outside the Malaysian Embassy in the Makati City, about 40 protester scorched pictures of Mahathir, whose regulation they said, adopted ''Nazi-like'' policies in its treatment of undocumented Filipinos.

The protester carried placards saying ''Respect the rights of the Filipinos'' and said the migrants must be compensated.

Congressman Robert Ace Barbers said the Philippine claim forward Sabah ''should now be renewed -- this time with more devotion and persistence.''

unless lawmaker Imee Marcos called for sobriety and said the Philippines should carefully select its actions.

''I worry about the contained threat regarding the deterioration and jeopardizing of Philippine-Malaysian relations during a time that we clearly ne cooperation,'' Marcos said.

For its part, Malaysia said in consequence of its embassy in Manila that it is willing to shoulder responsibility for the reported deaths if internal investigations could evince inhumane treatment.

''I've heard calls for an investigation and compensation. We will accept responsibility if we are plant guilty,'' Malaysian Ambassador to Manila Mohamad Taufik said.

He added that a probe ''may take time'' as it has to be true sure and thorough.

An official answer from the Malaysian capital in Kuala Lumpur about the diplomatic declaration may come in anytime, Taufik said.

''The note was taken (and) viewed seriously by means of my government. A formal answer will come. Like Secretary Ople said, it has to be carefully worded to protect the excellent relations,'' he said.

greatest in number deportees who have arrived back in the Philippines newly were reported to be suffering from malnutrition and hyemal symptoms.

Parisha Taradji, regional director of the Department of Social Welfare and progress to maturity said a total of 12273 deportees have arrived in the southern Philippines since January, aside from those who ferried by the agency of the Philippine Navy on Thursday.

control reports from Malaysia estimate there are about 300000 more Filipinos staying there illegally who face an Aug. 31 deadline to answer their country of origin.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Kyodo moderns International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group