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PRESIDENT
GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO’S SPEECH
THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SECRETARY ALBERT. AND THANK YOU TO THE WHOLE DFA TEAM FOR YOUR EXCELLENT HANDLING OF THE ANGELO DE LA CRUZ HOSTAGE CRISIS. (APPLAUSE) OUR IRAQ TEAM, THE UNDERSECRETARIES, ASSISTANT SECRETARIES, ALL THE OFFICERS AND STAFF OF THE DEPARTMENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! INDEED, IT’S A HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, ISN’T IT? AND IT’S APPROPRIATE THAT WE HOLD YOUR FOUNDATION DAY ON THE BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF APOLINARIO MABINI. AS WE ALL KNOW, HE WAS THE CONSCIENCE OF THE REVOLUTION AT A TIME OF GREAT DECISIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC. WE REMEMBER HIM TODAY AS THE POLITICAL MIND THAT HELP SHAPE THE DIRECTIONS OF A NASCENT NATION AT A TIME OF HISTORIC CHANGE. A TIME OF HISTORIC CHANGE, MUCH LIKE OUR FOREIGN RELATIONS TODAY ARE IMMERSED IN THE SHIFTING TIDES OF A CHALLENGING WORLD. MUCH LIKE THE CHALLENGES THAT DEMAND SACRIFICE AND COURAGE AMONG FILIPINO STATESMEN AND LEADERS OF THIS MILLENNIUM. APOLINARIO MABINI WAS CONSIDERED THE BRAINS OF THE REVOLUTION THAT’S WHY HE BECAME THE SECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. IT REQUIRES THE BEST BRAINS IN THE COUNTRY. AND YOU, THE DFA PERSONNEL HAVE IN FACT TIME AND AGAIN OVER MY LAST THREE YEARS AS PRESIDENT, OVER THE LAST THREE WEEKS, AND EVEN DURING THE PREVIOUS TIMES WHEN I WAS NOT YET PRESIDENT THAT I INTERACTED WITH YOU, YOU HAVE SHOWN, INDEED, THAT YOU HAVE AMONG THE BEST BRAINS IN THE COUNTRY. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU! (APPLAUSE) OF COURSE, I COULDN’T EXPECT YOU TO CAMPAIGN FOR ME BUT LET ME THANK THOSE WHO VOTED FOR ME IN THE LAST ELECTIONS. (APPLAUSE) I WAS ELECTED TO PROTECT THE INTEREST OF THE PHILIPPINES. AND AS I DECLARED WAY BACK IN JANUARY 2001 WHEN I FIRST BECAME PRESIDENT, AND MANY OF YOU WERE IN THAT AUDIENCE, MY FOREIGN POLICY CONSISTS IN PROTECTING THE INTEREST OF THE PHILIPPINES BY RESPONDING TO EIGHT REALITIES IN THE GLOBAL AND REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT. LET US TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TODAY TO UPDATE OURSELVES ON THOSE EIGHT REALITIES THAT SHAPE OUR FOREIGN POLICY. THE FIRST REALITY IS THAT CHINA, JAPAN AND THE UNITED STATES HAVE A DETERMINING INFLUENCE IN THE SECURITY SITUATION AND ECONOMIC EVOLUTION OF EAST ASIA. I WON’T TALK MUCH ABOUT CHINA AND JAPAN TODAY, SOME OTHER TIME, BUT TODAY I’LL TALK ABOUT THE THIRD POWERING EAST ASIA -- THE UNITED STATES. BY VIRTUE OF ITS DOMINANT MILITARY AND ECONOMIC POWER, THE UNITED STATES WILL CONTINUE TO BE AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE AFFAIRS OF THE REGION AND OF THE NATION. MOREOVER, THE PHILIPPINES HAS HAD ENDURING HISTORICAL, CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC TIES WITH THE UNITED STATES. THE LAST THREE YEARS IN PARTICULAR SAW A CLOSE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE PHILIPPINES AND THE UNITED STATES. I’M PLEASED THAT THE PHILIPPINES AND THE U.S. EMBARKED ON BROAD SECURITY COOPERATION TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES OF TERRORISM, ILLEGAL NARCOTICS TRADE, HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND OTHER TRANSNATIONAL CRIMES. DESPITE THE DOMESTIC PROBLEMS THAT IT SOMETIMES CAUSES, THE SECURITY ALLIANCE WITH THE UNITED STATES IS ON THE AVERAGE A STRATEGIC ASSET FOR THE PHILIPPINES. THE SECOND REALITY THAT SHAPES OUR FOREIGN POLICY IS THAT MORE AND MORE PHILIPPINE FOREIGN POLICY DECISIONS HAVE TO BE MADE IN THE CONTEXT OF ASEAN. THIRD, THE INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC COMMUNITY WILL BECOME MORE AND MORE IMPORTANT TO THE PHILIPPINES. WE SAW THAT IN THIS CRISIS WHEN WE COULD TURN TO FRIENDS FROM SYRIA, FROM BAHRAIN, FROM THE U.A.E. TO HELP US THROUGH. FOURTH, THE COMING YEARS WILL SEE THE REDEFINITION OF THE ROLE OF MULTILATERAL AND INTER-REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN PROMOTING COMMON INTERESTS. ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE U.N., THE WTO, APEC, ASEM, ASEAN. FIFTH,
THE DEFENSE OF THE NATION’S SOVEREIGNTY, THE PROTECTION OF ITS ENVIRONMENT
AND NATURAL RESOURCES CAN BE CARRIED OUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT THAT WE GET
OTHERS TO RESPECT OUR RIGHTS OVER OUR MARITIME TERRITORY.
SIXTH, THE COUNTRY’S ECONOMIC GROWTH WILL CONTINUE TO REQUIRE DIRECT FOREIGN INVESTMENT. SEVENTH, A COUNTRY LIKE THE PHILIPPINES CAN BENEFIT MOST QUICKLY FROM INTERNATIONAL TOURISM. AND EIGHTH, FILIPINO OVERSEAS WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN THE COUNTRY’S ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL STABILITY. THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMY FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE WILL CONTINUE TO BE DEPENDENT TO A VERY LARGE EXTENT, AT LEAST 8 BILLION DOLLARS ON OVERSEAS WORKER REMITTANCES. ON THE BASIS OF THEIR CONTRIBUTION BUT EVEN ASIDE FROM THAT, ON THE BASIS OF OUR NATION’S HUMANITARIAN RESPONSIBILITY TO OUR PEOPLE WHEREVER THEY ARE, OUR GOVERNMENT WORKS DOUBLY HARD TO STRENGTHEN OUR OVERSEAS WORKERS’ PROTECTION -- PROTECTION FROM THE DEPRADATIONS OF DOMESTIC RECRUITERS AS WELL AS OF OVERSEAS EMPLOYERS, AGENTS AND OFFICIALS, AND PROTECTION FROM PHYSICAL HARM. IN RESPONSE TO THESE EIGHT REALITIES, ABROAD MY FOCUS HAS BEEN TO PROTECT THE VITAL INTEREST OF THE NATION, INCLUDING OUR EIGHT MILLION OVERSEAS FILIPINOS. OUR GOVERNMENT DEEPLY CARES FOR OUR FILIPINOS OVERSEAS AND THEIR FAMILIES AND WILL DO ALL IT CAN TO KEEP THEM FROM HARM. THEREFORE, ON THIS SCORE, ON THIS DAY THAT WE HAVE DEDICATED NOT ONLY TO APOLINARIO MABINI, NOT ONLY TO THE FOUNDING OF THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS, BUT ON THIS DAY FOR THIS YEAR THANKSGIVING FOR THE SAFE RETURN OF ANGELO DE LA CRUZ. I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS TWO GLOBAL REALITIES -- THE REALITY OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE REALITY OF OVERSEAS FILIPINOS -- AS AN ISSUE OF FOREIGN POLICY THAT I KNOW IS ON THE MINDS OF PEOPLE IN THE PHILIPPINES AND AROUND THE WORLD. THE ISSUE OF OUR RECENT ACTIONS IN IRAQ TO FREE ONE OF OUR COUNTRYMEN FROM THE HANDS OF KIDNAPPERS. THE PHILIPPINES HAS FELT THE PAIN OF TERRORISM IN OUR COUNTRY FOR TOO MANY YEARS. AMBASSADOR CIMATU KNOWS THAT. HE ONCE FOUGHT THOSE TERRORISTS IN OUR SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES IN MY BEHALF. AND THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MOST OFTEN TERRORIZED ARE THE POOREST AMONG US. I COMMITTED OUR NATION TO JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST GLOBAL TERRORISM THAT ERUPTED AS A RESULT OF THE 9/11 TRAGEDY IN THE UNITED STATES. TOGETHER WILL ALL COUNTRIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION, I DID SO WITH THE FULL SUPPORT OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE, KNOWING OUR PEOPLEÕS SENSE OF OUTRAGE AND SENSE OF JUSTICE. MY COMMITMENT AND THE COMMITMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES DOES NOT WAVER IN THE FACE OF TERRORISM AT HOME OR ABROAD. WE FULLY SUPPORT THE WORLD COMMUNITY AND OUR ALLIES INCLUDING THE UNITED STATES IN OUR COORDINATED FIGHT. OUR FIGHT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL. RECENT CAPTURES OF TERRORISTS IN OUR SHORES HAVE CONTINUED TO DECIMATE THEIR UNDERGROUND CELLS. AND THEY KNOW THEIR DAYS ARE NUMBERED, BECAUSE WE WILL BE COMING AFTER THEM EVERY DAY I AM IN THIS OFFICE UNTIL THE LAST ONE IS DRIVEN FROM OUR ISLANDS AND WE RETURN TO PEACE, ORDER AND STABILITY. NOW, CONCERNING IRAQ. YOU KNOW VERY WELL THAT WE COMMITTED A SMALL HUMANITARIAN AND PEACEKEEPING FORCE OF ORIGINALLY A 100 PERSONS IN IRAQ TO HELP IN ITS POST-WAR RECONSTRUCTION. IÕM PROUD OF THE WORK WEÕVE DONE AND THE COURAGE AND DETERMINATION DISPLAYED BY OUR TROOPS AND WORKERS THERE. BUT PROUD AS I AM OF THE WORK THEY HAVE DONE, NEITHER DO I REGRET HAVING OUR CONTINGENT COME HOME A FEW DAYS EARLY TO PROTECT OUR BROADER INTEREST INCLUDING THE LIFE OF ANGELO DELA CRUZ. ONCE THE TRANSFER OF SOVEREIGNTY IN IRAQ WAS COMPLETED LAST JUNE 28, THE MISSION OF OUR REMAINING 43-MAN CONTINGENT -- NOT 51 BUT 43 -- WAS DONE. THEY WERE READY FOR HOME WHEN THE HOSTAGE INCIDENT INTERRUPTED THEIR DEPARTURE. AND, AFTERALL IS SAID AND DONE, I TRUST THAT OUR ALLIES WILL COME TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE PHILIPPINES IS IN A SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE. UNLIKE THE U.S., AUSTRALIA, BULGARIA AND OTHER COUNTRIES, WE HAVE 1.5 MILLION FILIPINOS WHO LIVE AND WORK IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND 4,000 ARE WORKING IN IRAQ TODAY. THIS IS THE LARGEST CONTINGENT OF PRIVATE FOREIGN WORKERS IN IRAQ. THESE WORKERS ARE DRIVING TRUCKS, BUILDING BRIDGES, PROVIDING MEDICAL TREATMENT AND OTHER VITAL SERVICES TO IRAQIS IN NEED. THE LIFE AND LIVELIHOOD OF THESE COURAGEOUS OFWs IS HAZARDOUS ENOUGH WITHOUT THE THREAT OF BEING HELD AS A POLITICAL PAWN IN SOME TERRORISTS CHESS GAME. ARGUABLY,
THE 4,000 PRIVATE WORKERS ARE MORE VALUABLE TO IRAQ THAN THE 100 AND THEN
THE 51 AND THE 43 PEACEKEEPERS, NOTWITHSTANDING THE FINE WORK OUR TROOPS
PERFORMED IN IRAQ. I TOOK THAT INTO CONSIDERATION.
TRUCK DRIVERS AND CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ARE HIGHLY VULNERABLE TO TERRORIST ATTACKS. IN CONTRAST, COMBAT TROOPS OF OTHER COALITION MEMBERS ARE BY DEFINITION NOT AS VULNERABLE. OUR PEOPLE, OUR OFWs ARE VULNERABLE. THAT VULNERABILITY, THAT THREAT HAS NOW BEEN RELIEVED AS A RESULT OF ANYWAY PREVIOUSLY AUTHORIZED DEPARTURE OF OUR PHILIPPINE TROOPS. AND WHILE WE ARE THANKFUL FOR THE RELEASE OF ANGELO, WE MUST UNITE AROUND OUR RESOLVE TO WIPE OUT TERRORISM ESPECIALLY IN THE PHILIPPINES BUT ALSO IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS ESPECIALLY UNDER THE UNITED NATIONS AND OUR ALLIANCES WITH OUR FRIENDS ABROAD. AND I HAVE BRACED THE FILIPINO PEOPLE FOR THE PROSPECT THAT WE MAY NOT ALWAYS HAVE SUCH A HAPPY ENDING WHEN IT COMES TO TERRORIST SITUATIONS. TO PUT OUT OF HARMÕS WAY SOME 4,000 OFWs IN IRAQ, WE HAVE MADE REPRESENTATIONS WITH THE CAMP COMMANDERS, WITH THE COALITION CAMP COMMANDERS TO ENHANCE SECURITY MEASURES FOR CIVILIAN WORKERS INSIDE THEIR BASES. WE HAVE ALSO ADVISED OUR WORKERS TO STAY INSIDE THE PROTECTION OF THE CAMPS THEY’RE WORKING IN, EXERCISE VIGILANCE AND KEEP IN MIND EMERGENCY PROCEDURES. AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE WOULD CONTINUE NOT TO ALLOW DEPLOYMENT OF FILIPINO WORKERS IN IRAQ OUTSIDE SECURED AND ESTABLISHED BASES SUCH AS TRUCK DRIVERS, HOTEL AND HOUSEHOLD STAFF, WORKERS IN OIL REFINARIES, POWER PLANTS AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURES. SECRETARY ALBERT HAS ALSO ISSUED DIRECTIVES TO ALL OUR MISSIONS BORDERING IRAQ TO REQUEST THEIR RESPECTIVE HOST GOVERNMENTS NOT TO ALLOW FILIPINO TRUCK DRIVERS TO CROSS INTO IRAQ FROM THEIR BORDERS. NOTWITHSTANDING ALL THESE, BECAUSE THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO SHOW OUR COMMITMENT, OUR FILIPINO PEOPLE AND OUR NATION REMAIN COMMITTED TO OUR FRIENDS AND ALLIES ABROAD WHILE REMAINING TRUE TO OUR CONVICTIONS HERE AT HOME. WE SHARE THE SAME GOAL BUT DO NOT ALWAYS WALK ON THE SAME PATH. AND LET ME SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON EXAGGERATED CLAIMS BY CRITICS AND IN THE MEDIA THAT THERE IS A BREAK IN OUR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNITED STATES -- THAT IS NOT THE CASE. THE PHILIPPINES AND THE UNITED STATES HAVE CENTURY’S-OLD BONDS, TIGHTENED BY A COMMON POLITICAL TRADITION, BY WORLD WARS FOUGHT TOGETHER, BY TENS OF THOUSANDS OF BRAVE SOLDIERS DYING IN THE BATTLEFIELD OF FREEDOM. THAT IS A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TWO PEOPLES. NO PRESIDENT CAN BREAK THAT BOND BECAUSE IT IS HELD TOGETHER BY A PERMANENT HISTORY. OUR PARTNERSHIP FOR A BETTER WORLD IS STRONGER THAN EVER. HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES, I ENJOY A CORDIAL AND DIRECT RELATIONSHIP WITH AMBASSADOR RICCIARDONE AND VALUE HIS ROLE IN HELPING THE PHILIPPINES. THE SAME IS TRUE WITH OUR RELATIONS WITH THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION. THEREFORE, I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THAT OUR PHILIPPINE FOREIGN POLICY HAS NOT CHANGED. IT IS SHAPED, IT HAS BEEN SHAPED, IT WILL BE SHAPED AND DRIVEN BY THE SUPREME INTEREST OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE. THE FILIPINO PEOPLE, THE AVERAGE FILIPINO PEOPLE, AVERAGE PEOPLE LIKE THE FAMILY OF ANGELO DE LA CRUZ -- EIGHT KIDS AND A WIFE -- WHO HAVE TO LET GO OF A FATHER AND HUSBAND TO DRIVE FOR A TRANSNATIONAL COMPANY HALFWAY AROUND THE GLOBE ACROSS FIREFIGHTS AND TRENCHES. THAT WE HAVE TO BRING ANGELO HOME SAFELY IS ONLY INCIDENTAL TO MY MESSAGE TO HIS KIN AND ALL OTHERS IN THE SAME GRIM SITUATION. I HAVE TO LOOK THEM IN THE EYE AND TELL THEM I WILL FIGHT FOR THEIR BETTER FUTURE. THIS IS NOT A TALE ABOUT POLITICS. IT IS ABOUT HUMAN SURVIVAL AND DIASPORA, ABOUT POVERTY AND FAMILIES BEING TORN APART, AND OUR WILL AND RESOLVE TO BRING FOOD TO EVERY TABLE. AND AS ANGELO HAS COME HOME, I AM NOT ABOUT TO BARE A BLEEDING HEART TO DEFEND MY POSITION. WHAT I HAVE SAID TO YOU TODAY, IT WONÕT TAKE MORE THAN THREE LINES TO SUMMARIZE, AND LET ME SAY THESE THREE LINES: ONE, I TAKE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY. TWO, I MAKE NO APOLOGIES. THREE, I STUCK TO MY OATH. (APPLAUSE) BUT I COULD DO THAT BECAUSE I HAVE YOU, THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE DFA. (APPLAUSE) SO TODAY, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE, THOSE WHO HELD THE LINE OF DUTY IN IRAQ. AND I’M GLAD SOME OF THEM ARE HERE TODAY, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO MANNED THEIR POSTS DURING THE HOSTAGE SAGA. OH, THERE. I SHOULD POINT HERE ALSO NOT ONLY THERE. (LAUGHTER) THERE WERE THOSE WHO BRAVED GREAT DANGER TO COMPLETE THE MISSION, AND MANY MORE OTHERS WHO ASSISTED THE OVERALL EFFORT FROM THE SIDELINES, FROM HERE, FROM THIS BUILDING, FROM MALACANANG THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND HERE AT HOME. I AM GRATEFUL TO YOU ALL. THIS AFTERNOON I SHALL HEAR MASS WITH ANGELO IN THE GROTTO OF OUR LADY OF ROSALES IN PANGASINAN. I HAVE SOUGHT OUR LADY’S INTERCESSION MANY TIMES AND ONCE AGAIN THIS TIME SHE INTERCEDED FOR A DEFINING DECISION IN MY PRESIDENCY AND IN MY LIFE AS A FILIPINO. I THANK THE LORD AND THE FILIPINO ON THIS DAY OF PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING. I THANK THE LORD THAT WE HAVE A WONDERFUL BRAVE, HEROIC AND EXCELLENT DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. HAPPY
ANNIVERSARY! AND THANK YOU. (APPLAUSE)
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