The Philippines' application for an observer status in the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) may yet be hastened with the attendance of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the 10th summit slated in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 15-16.

The President has been invited to attend the OIC summit, the first ever Philippine President to be accorded such honor in the OIC's 34-year existence. She is scheduled to leave tomorrow for Kuala Lumpur.

Defense Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita, who is one of the Cabinet officials to accompany the President to Malaysia, believes that the invitation by the OIC through Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, will solidify the chances of the Philippines to be admitted as an observer of the influential Islamic organization.

Ermita, however, said the Philippines will just have to wait for the final decision of the OIC on the application.

So far, there are only four countries granted observer status by the OIC. These are Bosnia-Herzegovina, Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivore and Thailand.

The OIC was founded in Rabat, Kingdom of Morroco on Sept. 25, 1969. It was formed in response to the call for Islamic solidarity made by the late Saudi Arabian King Faisal Ibn Abdulaziz.

The aim of the OIC was spelled out during the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers meeting in February 1972.

The OIC’s primary goal is to strengthen solidarity and cooperation among Islamic states in the political, economic, cultural, scientific and social. Despite its name, the OIC does not pursue religious affairs.

The other essential aims of the organization are: to adopt all necessary measures to promote international peace and security founded on the basis of justice, to coordinate efforts to protect the holy places of Islam, and to support the struggle of the Palestinian people to recover their rights and homeland.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will be making history as the first Philippine head of state to be invited to attend a summit of the powerful Organization Islamic Conference (OIC) in its 34 year of existence.

Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo, the second woman president of the Philippines, will attend the 10^th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference to be held in Kuala Lumpur on Oct. 15-16.

No other Philippine president in the past had been invited by the OIC to attend its annual summit. The President is scheduled to leave tomorrow for Kuala Lumpur.

"This is the first time in Philippine history that a President OF our country has been invited to attend the OIC summit," Defense Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita, the outgoing Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, said.

Ermita said it is a great honor for the President, in particular, and the Philippines, in general, to receive such an invitation coming from the influential OIC.

The defense chief said that the attendance of the President in the two-day summit will be a big boost to the ongoing peace process in Mindanao, particularly on the impending resumption of the peace talks between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Kuala Lumpur this month.

"Definitely, it will a big help," Ermita said.

Ermita will be among the few Cabinet officials to accompany the President to Malaysia during the two-day OIC summit.

The other Cabinet men are Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople and Gov. Parouk Hussin of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Ermita said the invitation extended by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the host of the 10^th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference, is in recognition of the Philippine government’s genuine efforts to solve the long-drawn Mindanao problem hounding the country for more than 30 years.

The Philippines has already submitted an application to become an observer of the OIC.

Ermita recalled that the OIC was "very supportive" to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) during the bloody guerilla war waged by the MNLF against the Philippine government in the early 1970s until 1996 when a peace accord was signed in Manila.

"But because of the efforts of President Macapagal-Arroyo and then President Ramos, the OIC has fully recognized the Philippine government’s efforts in resolving the Mindanao problem," Ermita said.

He said the Philippine government has religiously implemented the GRP-MNLF peace accord of 1996 and "the OIC has found it appropriate."

One of the provisions in the 1996 pact was the integration of former MNLF fighters to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today that her trip to Kuala Lumpur, venue of the Summit of the Organization Islamic Conference (OIC), is part of her administration’s search for lasting peace in Mindanao and to make sure it will continue to be within our grasp.

Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo, who gained the distinction of being the first Philippine President to ever be invited to the OIC Summit, left this afternoon aboard Philippine Airlines flight PR 001.

Flight PR 001 departed from the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City at exactly 1:55 p.m. for an estimated 3-hour and 45-minute flying time to Kuala Lumpur.

The President was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Blas Ople, Defense Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles, Chief of the Presidential Management Staff Silvestre Afable, Jr., Presidential Adviser on Special Concerns Norberto Gonzales, Gov. Parouk Hussin of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Romualdo Ong.

She was sent off at the terminal by Senate President Franklin Drilon, Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, Press Secretary Milton Alingod, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Narciso Abaya, and Malaysian Ambassador to Manila Mohammad Taufik Noor.

In her departure statement, the President drew attention to a number of current developments--like the prospective membership of the Philippines in the United Nations Security Council; the signing of ASEAN Concord II in Bali, Indonesia; and US President George W. Bush’s state visit to the Philippines on Saturday – that have important bearing on the country’s foreign relations.

Apart from attending the OIC Summit as an observer, the President said she will also participate in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, scheduled to be hosted early next week by Thailand, that will sustain fight for fair and liberalized trade carried by the Group of 21 in Cancun, Mexico.

"These events mark the trend of the future: global security, regional integration, bold diplomacy for peace and development, consolidating the battle against terrorism and poverty, and obtaining economic justice in the real of globalization," she said.

The President thanked Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for inviting her to attend as observer in the largest gathering of Muslim leaders in the world.

She also expressed her best wishes to Mahathir in his three-year stint at the helm of OIC. Mahathir is set to retire as Prime Minister of Malaysia at the end of October 2003.

The President said that her mission in Kuala Lumpur is not just to find greater autonomy or social justice for Muslim Filipinos. "It has something to do," she clarified, "with their search for dignity, heritage and a sense of belonging to a respected community within a diverse nation."

In seeking the keys to peace, she expressed the hope that "we shall also open the doors to development and progress."

KUALA LUMPUR (Via PLDT)—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo arrived here late this afternoon to a red carpet welcome to attend as invited guest to the 10^th Session of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) hosted by Malaysia.

The Presidential plane carrying the President touched down at the ultra modern Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 5:25 p.m.

The President was accompanied by a lean Philippine delegation composed of Foreign Secretary Blas Ople, Defense Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles, Chief of the Presidential Management Staff Silvestre Afable, Jr., Presidential Adviser on Special Concerns Norberto Gonzales, Gov. Parouk Hussin of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Romualdo Ong.

This is the first time that a Philippine president has been invited to attend as a special guest of the OIC.

Malaysia’s hosting of the 10^th OIC Summit is highly considered significant for Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad who will step down from office on October 31 after guiding Malaysia into a spectacular economic boom during his watch.

The President will have a chance to meet heads of state of the influential Islamic body during her overnight stay here.