On Wednesday the Foreign Secretary Delia Albert issued the following press release:

"The Foreign Affairs Ministry is coordinating the pullout of the humanitarian contingent with the Ministry of National Defense. As of today our head count is down from 51 to 43." She refused to elaborate.

This statement left many diplomats and analysts in Manila scratching their heads. Did the government withdraw the troops on Wednesday or were they on leave anyway and not in Iraq?

Last week the head count was already down by six. Five members of the contingent were on rest and recreation leave and one was attached to the liaison office at Camp Doha in Kuwait, the defense department told Agence France-Presse last Friday.

The statement putting the size of the Philippine contingent at 43 followed an equally confusing and vague statement by deputy foreign secretary Rafael Seguis on Arabic television station Al-Jazeera on Monday.

http://www.inq7.net/nat/2004/jul/16/nat_3-1.htm