QUEZON CITY MAYOR BELMONTE – PANELIST AT A BND SYMPOSIUM

16 November 2007—Philippine Ambassador to Berlin Delia Domingo Albert reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that upon invitation of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND-Bundesnachrichtendienst), Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte was a panelist at the 9^th BND Symposium that focused on the theme “Crisis of Governance.”  He shared his valuable insights and experiences in dealing with the attendant problems and ills of a dynamic metropolis.

The symposium tackled the question on how internal conflicts could be confronted and managed with the help of an internationally-coordinated policy.  The BND reported that international security is gradually being threatened by the breakdown of authority in some parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and that some megacities like Bombay, Mexico, Jakarta, and the Balkan states are becoming ungovernable in view of the risks from the unabated activities of terrorists, militias, and drug lords. 

Around 400 international experts and secret service officials attended the symposium.  Mayor Belmonte was the first elected Filipino official to be invited to this event as a result of Quezon City´s success story. 

On the fringes of the symposium, Mayor Belmonte met with the head of the Salesian Don Bosco in Berlin to forge a cooperation framework for helping alleviate the lives of child prisoners in the Philippines. END

/Gary