| Gov't prepared to pursue peace talks based on authentic consultations |
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LIMA, Peru – The Philippine government is prepared to go back to the
negotiating table with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as soon as
positive results are gathered from the ongoing consultations with
stakeholders and affected communities in Mindanao. Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said this was what President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo told United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during their meeting Saturday night (Nov. 22) at the Ministry of Defense (MOD) compound here. Briefing the Philippine media at the Hotel Las Americas Pardo in Miraflores District here, Dureza said Rice asked the President about the developments in ongoing peace process in Mindanao. The President explained the new paradigm of her administration in pursuing the peace talks with the MILF based on more authentic consultations and not dictated by any armed group. He said the President, also expressed her gratitude for the continuing US assistance in the Mindanao peace process. Dureza expressed confidence that the ongoing consultations with the stakeholders as mandated under the new paradigm might be completed very soon. “There might be a new announcement very soon about the resumption of peace talks with the MILF. But she (President Macapagal-Arroyo) reiterated the bottomline that communities must be secured first and the responsible elements of the MILF must take control,” he added. Hopefully, Dureza said, positive results from the ongoing multi-sectoral consultations would come out as early as next month to enable the government to address the immediate needs of the displaced families and affected communities in the south. |
| APEC leaders agree to bolster cooperation to address financial crisis facing region |
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LIMA, Peru – The Philippines and other leaders of the 21-member Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) agreed today to further strengthen regional
cooperation on all fronts to promote growth and development and pave the way
for rapid recovery from the most daunting financial and economic challenges
the region has faced since the APEC creation in 1989. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the 20 other APEC leaders issued this proclamation in their final declaration at the close of the two-day 16th APEC Leaders Summit on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 23) at the Ministry of Defense (MOD) convention center here. Peruvian President Alan Garcia Perez read the Spanish text of the APEC leaders’ final declaration. This was followed immediately by the simple turnover acceptance speech of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore which will host of the 2009 APEC Leaders Summit. Afterwards, the President and other APEC leaders, garbed in the traditional Peruvian brown-colored “poncho,” had their official group photo taken. In their declaration, the APEC leaders agreed to liberalize trade and promote investments, support and implement structural economic reforms, improve human security, and promote corporate social responsibility to ensure that all member-economies benefit from globalization. “The current global financial crisis is one of the most serious economic challenges we have ever faced. We will act quickly and decisively to address the impending global economic slowdown,” the leaders said. In response to the global crisis, the APEC leaders vowed to oppose protectionism by strongly pushing for the conclusión of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round of Talks, and refrain from raising the current levels of applied import tariffs at least until the end of next year. “We welcome the monetary and fiscal stimulus provided by APEC member-economies and will take all necessary economic and financial measures to resolve this crisis,” the declaration read. The leaders also endorsed the 2009 work plan for the APEC Regional Economic Integration (REI) agenda, emphasized the importance of strengthening financial markets in the region, and welcomed the capacity-building activities initiated by APEC finance ministers to reform capital markets. They also affirmed their commitment to strengthen the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) in the region as they welcomed the progress being made by the economies to implement APEC’s anti-counterfeiting and piracy initiatives and efforts to improve the patent systems. The leaders also vowed to improve food security in the region and supported a fully-coordinated response and a comprehensive strategy to tackle this issue through a broad framework for action developed by the United Nations (UN) task force on global food security crisis. The APEC leaders also agreed to cooperate on disaster preparedness and management, and confront the challenges of climate change. “As a global issue, climate change must be addressed in a comprehensive manner, through international cooperation under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2009,” they said. During the summit, the Philippines backed the G20 declaration in Washington last week to reform and strengthen international financing institutions which provide overseas development assístance (ODA) grants and other financial liquidity infusions to developing countries. The Philippines also reaffirmed its continuing commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including the fight against poverty, hunger and food security, terrorism, climate change, energy security and clean development. |
| PGMA unveils Rizal's bust at the Rizal Park in Lima |
| LIMA, Peru – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo unveiled today the bust of
Dr. Jose Rizal at the newly-named Rizal Park in this capital city. The unveiling rites were held on the last day of her visit to Peru to attend the two-day 16th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting at the Ministry of Defense Convention Center, this city. Welcoming the President at the Rizal Park at the Avenida La Floresta and Paseo de los Eucaliptos here were La Molina District Mayor Luis Dibos Vargas Prada; Philippine ambassador to Chile, Peru and Ecuador Amb. Maria Consuelo “Baby” Puyat Reyes; and some 50 Filipina nuns and Filipino overseas workers here. The ceremony was kicked off by Mayor Prada’s welcome remarks, followed by the singing of the national anthems of the two countries, and then by the unveiling of the bronze bust of Rizal by President Arroyo and Mayor Prada. In his remarks, Mayor Prada said they are honored with the presence of the President, adding that Peruvians can learn from Rizal’s patriotism. The bust of Rizal was designed by Czech sculptor Libor Piszlac of Litomerice, Czech Republic, the place where Rizal’s friend, Ferdinand Blumentritt, once lived. The bust is mounted atop a quadrilateral pedestal where four inaugural plaque markers are mounted on each side. Inscribed in one marker are the words: “Dr. Jose P. Rizal, Heroe Nacional de Filipinas, Nacionalista, Reformador Political, Escritor, Linguistica y Poeta, 1861-1896.” Inscribed in another marker are the details of the formal inaugural rites led by the President and witnessed by Mayor Prada. The bust of Rizal was donated by Hans Gunter Schoof -- a German married to a Filipina from Baclayon, Bohol -- who is a passionate admirer of Rizal, especially the national hero’s exploits in Germany. Schoof now owns a plush resort in Bohol which boasts of a fine collection of Rizal memorabilia. The establishment of the Rizal Park here was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Peru and the municipality of La Molina. |
| Peru's leading University honors PGMA |
| LIMA, Peru – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was conferred here today a
doctorate degree in science, economic and public administration, honoris
causa, from the Universidad de San Ignacio de Loyola, one of the most
distinguished and prestigious educational institutions in Peru. Donning a graduation hood and gown, the President received her diploma and medal from University Director Dra. Lourdes Flores Nano and Señor Lic. Raul Diez Canseco Terry, president and founder of the Organizacion Educativa de Universidad de San Ignacio de Loyola. Terry said the President is the first Head of State/Government in the Asia-Pacific to be accorded the honor in recognition of her efforts to promote quality education, including the inclusion of the Spanish subject in the Philippine education curriculum. At the reception that followed, the university official also presented the President with a four-foot image of the Peruvian saint, Sta. Rosa de Lima, also the patron saint of many towns in the Philippines. After the conferment ceremony, the President proceeded to hear the 6 p.m. special Sunday Mass at the shrine and church of Sta. Rosa de Lima which was officiated by Msgr. Allen Aganon, a Filipino. A number of Filipinos, including priests, nuns, religious workers and others working in Peru, attended the mass. A devout Catholic, the President has made religious visits in the past to churches and religious shrines on the sidelines of her official and working visits in the Philippines and abroad. Born April 30, 1586, Sta. Rosa de Lima, the first saint of Peru, was officially proclaimed by Pope Clement X as the Patron Saint of the Americas, Peru and the Philippines on Aug. 11, 1670. It was also Pope Clement X who canonized Sta. Rosa de Lima as a saint on April 12, 1671. |
| APEC leaders vow to improve food security to help vulnerable sector |
| LIMA, Peru — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the 20 other leaders of
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) committed today to improve food
security to help the poor in the region who are most vulnerable to the
impact of tight food supply and escalating food prices worldwide. In their final declaration here, the APEC leaders said the current volatility of global food prices, combined with food shortages in some developing economies, are affecting gains in reducing poverty in the region. “The poor are especially vulnerable to increases in food prices. We support a fully coordinated response and a comprehensive strategy to tackle this issue through the Comprehensive Framework for Action developed by the United Nations (UN) Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis. We will support the application and implementation of this Framework within the region, as appropriate,” the APEC leaders said. The leaders said APEC members’ individual and collective policy responses to expand food and agricultural supply in the region should strengthen market forces to encourage new investments in agricultural technology and production systems. They also called for the early conclusion of the stalled Doha Round of Talks of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to open the way for substantial improvements in market access and reduce market-distorting measures in global agricultural trade. “We commended the work that APEC has undertaken in the area of food and agriculture, and welcome the work plan endorsed by APEC Ministers to refine and strengthen APEC’s agenda to meet current and emerging food security challenges,” the leaders said. They also vowed to increase technical cooperation and capacity building that will help foster agricultural sector growth, including efforts to increase food production, improve agricultural education, enhance natural resource management, promote the development of next-generation biofuels made from non-food materials, build well-functioning markets and regulatory institutions, and make food storage, transportation, and distribution systems more efficient. Long before the global credit crunch, the President had directed the Department of Agriculture (DA) to implement a comprehensive agricultural program focused on higher spending on irrigation and rural infrastructure, post-harvest facilities, certified and hybrid seeds, research and development, rural credit facilitation, and establishing more markets for Philippine agricultural products. The President also secured agricultural grants and loans, including $216.5 million from the United States last June, to help ensure food security amid the rising prices of rice, fuel and other commodities worldwide. UN and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officials are currently meeting in Manila on food security to determine how the UN can assist ASEAN in implementing its Strategic Plan of Action on Food Security (SPA-FS). The meeting is preparatory to a meeting between the UN and ASEAN leaders in Chiang Mai, Thailand to next month. |