I arrived yesterday from a series of diplomatic missions during which I vigorously pursued our foreign policy, a foreign policy designed to support the peace, economic development and reform agenda of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

        I returned yesterday after a major global peace initiative in the United Nations, raising the profile of the Philippines in the development and defense assistance budget of the US Congress, heightening our engagement with the Organization of the Islamic Conference and its members, as well as pursuing our bid for observer status, and engaging the host of the largest concentration of Filipino migrant workers and major player in the production and pricing of oil.
 

Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace, 22 June 2005, UN, New York

In New York, we brought the role of interfaith cooperation to the fore and helped promote its use in forging greater peace, understanding and tolerance.  I had the opportunity to chair the historic Interfaith Cooperation for Peace at the United Nations and read the President’s message to the participants.

Working together, governments, United Nations agencies and civil society joined to translate shared values and objectives into action, to achieve sustainable peace.  The Conference agreed on the following:

UN Summit in September to take into account results of Conference.

Member States, the UN, civil society should take practical actions (e.g. education/media campaigns) to foster understanding, tolerance, cooperation among religions and beliefs.

Open-ended, tripartite group be created to follow-up results of Conference, working with existing initiatives in the UN and elsewhere.

UN Secretary-General to explore enhancing existing implementation mechanisms and initiatives on dialogue among cultures and civilizations.

After working with others in the UN in helping build peace in the world, I went to Washington where my focus was peace in the Southern Philippines.  To do this, I conveyed to key Congressional officials the importance to both the Philippines and the United States to build peace in the Southern Philippines and to prevent terrorists from taking advantage of the despair that poverty and conflict can create.

I met with the Chair of the Senate Appropriation Committee, Senator Thad Cochran (Republican-Mississippi), and Representative Kolbe (Republican – 8th District, Arizona), chair of the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Program.  I also met with an old friend of the Philippines, Senator Diane Fienstein (Democrat – California) and Senator Robert F. Bennett (Republican – Utah), Chief Deputy Majority Whip and a member of the Senate Republican leadership team.

All of the lawmakers I met fully appreciated the importance of peace in the Southern Philippines.  They agreed to support efforts in the US Congress to increase the budgetary allocation to assistance to conflict and post-conflict areas in Southern Mindanao.

There is renewed interest within Washington circles in the Philippines.  They are deeply impressed by the economic and fiscal reforms taken by President Arroyo.  They know the political difficulties the President had to hurdle to achieve these reforms and they know the sacrifices needed to ensure the implementation of these reforms.

It is with a determination to succeed in pursuing the President’s agenda of boosting the economy that I also met with Mr. Paul Wolfowitz, the President of the World Bank.  As an old friend of the Philippines, he knew quite well how difficult it is to pursue a reform agenda.  I discussed with him our proposal for debt-for-development arrangements, building on the momentum generated by the decision of the G8 to condone the multilateral loans of a total of 38 heavily indebted poor countries.  He welcomed the idea and agreed to give it serious study.

32nd Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, Sana’a, Yemen, 28-30 June 2005

In Sana’a, Yemen I pursued more meaningful engagement with the Organization of the Islamic Conference and its members during its Ministerial Meeting on 27-30 June 2005.  The OIC and its individual members have been instrumental in our search for peace and development in the Southern Philippines, and in my meetings with several delegations, I received their firm commitment to continue supporting our peace and development efforts as well as our bid for observer status.

As I said before I left, in Sana’a we will find ourselves with more support in our quest for Observer status in the OIC.  With the support given to us by Indonesia and the African Union as well as a host of other members, and with the admission of Russia as Observer, I believe that we are indeed on track.

I also addressed the Committee and emphasized that the President is committed to the 1996 GRP-MNLF Peace Agreement and is fully determined to pursue political, economic and social reforms that will empower our Muslim brothers towards progress and development.  OPAPP Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles also presented a comprehensive progress report on Phase 2 of the Peace Agreement which was annexed in its entirety to the C8 Report and will be distributed to the OIC Secretary General and 57 member states in the plenary session.

OFWs’ support for the President

In Sana’a, I was touched by the sentiments expressed by the Filipino Community after the President’s statement on the issue of the tapes.  Even in far off Yemen, our Filipinos remain deeply interested and concerned over developments in the Philippines.  They said that the President is only human and that they understood how hard her work is.  They admire her for her admission of a lapse in judgment and they feel closer to her for it.  To them the President may be president, but she is still human – a human who has to face many super human challenges.

In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, I was also deeply moved by the strong showing of support for the President after her message on the issue of the tapes.  I received formal messages of support for President Arroyo’s administration and for her message on the issue of her taped conversation from two of the largest OFW groups in Saudi, the OFW-Congress and the United OFWs.

I also received letters of strong support for the President from the Council of Unified Muslim Community Leaders in Riyadh, the Federation of Maranao Associations in Saudi, and the Alliance of Overseas Muslim Professionals.

Their message was essentially the same: the President won the elections and we should all unite behind her.

Official Visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1-3 July 2005

Fortified by the sincere support of the OFW community in Saudi Arabia, I went into my official meetings full of vigor and determination.  In my meetings in Riyadh, I focused on the welfare of overseas Filipino workers, peace and development in the Southern Philippines and the rising price of oil.  I met with His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince and conveyed the warm greetings of the President.  I also met with the Ministers of Labor, Justice and Interior as well as foreign affairs and local government officials.

I was impressed by all their high regard for our Filipinos and how profoundly grateful the Saudis are for their contribution to Saudi growth and progress.  It is in this spirit that I received firm commitments for better treatment for our workers, better machineries for complaints against employers, closer coordination and cooperation on criminal cases and the consideration of a mechanism for consultation and cooperation on cases involving the death penalty.

I endeavored to keep the DFA press corps informed through our press releases and I hope I did not disappoint you.  But if I did, then I am ready to take your questions.  If I didn’t then I’m ready to hear from you everything that has been happening since I was gone.

Thank you.  END
 

/jay