Monday, December 24, 2007 Palace held the need of lobbyist in US
MALACAñANG said the Philippines needs the services of international consultancy group Covington and Burling LLP because left-leaning movements are beating the government in terms of propaganda before the US Congress and US Government.
Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Antonio Apostol said countries have firms lobbying for their interests in the US government.
“We need a lobby firm in Washington. We are defeated by the leftist. They have lobbyist there. Anything Washington does affect the whole world. Our relationship to US is strong but we still need a lobbyist,” he said.
He quoted US authorities saying the Philippines would not be given any aid if it does not solve the problem on extrajudicial killings. “They don’t want us to receive arms to fight them,” he said.
He claimed that the leftist groups usually tap Protestant churches and other very vocal groups in the US to lobby for their interests.
He added that lobbying in the US is legal.
Apostol said Covington and Burling LLP will lobby for Philippine interests like financial aid, welfare of overseas Filipinos, and for products that Philippines are exporting.
He said the Philippine Government needs to engage the services of a lobby firm in order to protect its interests, and during these times, it has to shell out money.
He said negotiations are still ongoing as to how much the government has to pay for the services of Covington and Burling LLP, but it’s definitely not US$50 million.
Apostol said he does not understand why Senator Manuel Roxas III does not agree to having a lobby group.
He said if Roxas, who is reportedly angling for the presidency in 2010, becomes successful, he would also need a lobbyist in the US.
“We will need one, not only our embassy. It’s not sufficient,” he said.
He dismissed possible apprehensions that the new lobby deal would go the way of Venable LLP, which was cancelled because of questions raised from the opposition. (JMR/Sunnex)
