Saturday, August 07, 2004 Palace unfazed by RP's ouster from US-led coalition
* Senators disappointed with move
MALACAÑANG shrugged off reports that the Philippines has been stricken out of the US-led "coalition of the willing", reiterating that President Arroyo was neither sorry nor would she apologize for choosing to save the life of a Filipino.
"The President has stuck to her oath, taken responsibility and has no apologies. If this is the price to pay for being a Filipino and for leading the Filipino nation, so be it," said Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye.
Bunye said this would not stop the Philippines from continuously coordinating and working with its allies and Southeast Asian neighbors in the anti-terrorism front reiterating that terrorism knows no nation, race or boundaries.
While Malacanang was nonchalant over the development, some senators were disappointed with the move.
US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher revealed Thursday that the US no longer considers the Philippines a member of the Coalition.
The statement was made as the Philippines came under heavy fire for the past weeks over its decision to pull out Filipino troops from Iraq in exchange for the freedom of Filipino truck driver Angelo dela Cruz who was held hostage by the Iraqi militia group Khalid Waleed Corps of the Islamic Army in July.
Bunye said despite the latest development, Philippine-US relations would continue to survive. He said this would also apply with other nations who are still with the coalition.
He however admitted that there would be a temporary strain in Philippine-US relations.
Bunye added that there are other and more meaningful ways to sustain and strengthen the Philippines' strategic relationship with the US.
"(And) we shall always work to keep the relationship firm in propelling the common commitment to fight terrorism domestically, regionally, and worldwide," he said.
Meanwhile, some senators expressed disappointment over the Philippines' ouster from the coalition and urged the government to accept the consequences.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, chairman of the Senate committee on foreign relations said "it is regrettable to see Washington dropping the Philippines like a hot potato after a lengthy period of wooing us to side with them."
"We have always been supportive of the US' principles and objectives of its war against international terrorism. Too bad that it came to a point where national interest must be considered first before anybody else's interest," the lady senator said.
On the other hand, Sen. Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr. said if the US had indeed decided to remove the country from the coalition - so be it, and the country should just continue its fight against terrorism.
Sens. Manuel Villar and Alfredo Lim, for their part, said it was expected for the US to drop the country from the coalition following the pullout of Filipino troops.
Lim added that the Philippines can still develop its relations with other countries so as to make them alternatives sources of what the US has to offer. JMR/JPM
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