Monday, November 06, 2006
Another Cebu venue for Asean meet acceptable: Arroyo
MANILA -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo does not mind conducting the 12th Asean Leaders' Summit anywhere in Cebu, in case the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) isn't finished in time for the event.
"The important thing is we are prepared substantively because you can hold a summit anywhere. Governor Gwendolyn Garcia is confident that the center will be ready, but that is not the most important preparation for a summit," Arroyo said.
The deadline for the completion of the CICC is next Wednesday, Nov. 15.
At least 10,000 foreign and local delegates are expected to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit. The pre-summit meeting will be held on December 6-9, while the summit and its related meetings with dialogue partners and the second East Asia Summit will run on December 10-13.
President Arroyo said her priority is not the venue but the initiatives she will be pushing for, such as the resumption of the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks, the North Korea denuclearization program, the establishment of an Asean community and the anti-terrorism declaration.
"What are the important things to discuss and how do we move the region and the world forward with our summit? That's our most important preparation," she said.
Palace officials said the President has already approved the possible holding of the summit at the Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort and Spa, in case the CICC is not ready yet.
The resort will also house the official delegates from the 10-member states and about nine other dialogue partner-countries.
Security preparations have been in full swing since September, with about 800 police personnel brought in from nearby provinces. The main part of the police backup from other regions is expected to arrive in Cebu this month.
An Eminent Persons Group (EPG), which includes former president Fidel Ramos, is finalizing the proposed Asean charter that will be submitted when the summit, chaired by President Arroyo, is convened.
Ramos has said the proposed Asean charter incorporates "the values, principles, commitments and high concepts already embodied in the landmark Asean treaties, protocols, covenants, agreements" and also incorporates an Asean human rights commission and an Asean institute.
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the draft charter will be "bold and visionary."
The Philippines assumed the alphabetically rotating Asean chairmanship this year, after Myanmar was stripped of its chance at the helm for its continued detention of democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Filipino diplomats have said the charter could give Asean some form of mechanism to address individual domestic problems by member-nations that ultimately affect their neighbors.
Sources earlier said the charter could include a mechanism that spelled out sanctions for members who failed to heed a consensus reached by the group. This was seen as a step forward from Asean's traditional policy of not interfering with each other's internal affairs.
Myanmar has resolutely refused to implement reforms demanded by its bigger Asean neighbors, despite economic sanctions by the US and the EU.
Apart from Myanmar and the Philippines, other Asean members are Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. (Sunnex/AFP)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Manila.
(November 6, 2006 issue)
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