NOY TO SEEK APEC HELP ON TRAVEL ADVISORIES / NOY OFF TO JAPAN NEXT WEEK
MANILA, NOVEMBER 6, 2010 (STAR) By Delon Porcalla - President Aquino will take advantage of his upcoming trip to Yokohama, Japan for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit on Nov. 12 to 15 to persuade fellow heads of state to go slow on issuing travel warnings on the Philippines.
"We will be meeting with a lot of them for the APEC summit next week. I'll probably course the dialogue with a lot of them as much as possible," Mr. Aquino told Palace reporters at Malacañang's Heroes Hall.
The Chief Executive issued the statement as France joined five other countries yesterday in issuing a travel warning on imminent terror attacks in the Philippines. The other countries are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Most of the governments included Metro Manila in their warnings.
Mr. Aquino said his officials have been "communicating with the embassies" regarding the country's concern over the impact of the advisories.
"Perhaps we should communicate in the most diplomatic way possible that there is an urgent request from our country not to be inflicted this harm if the basis is not that concrete. That will be the simplest message that we will try to send them," he said.
The embassies of New Zealand and Australia yesterday said they would not lift their travel advisories, ABS-CBN News reported.
New Zealand Ambassador Andrew Matheson maintained that they issued the travel advisory based on reliable information that was carefully considered, although he clarified that "it is only an advise, there is no travel ban."
The President also expressed confidence in the competence of his men in the intelligence community.
"Talagang naka-focus, nakatutok at pre-emptive tayo ngayon (We're focused and taking a pre-emptive stance) for our domestic terror groups to prevent them from carrying out any plans," he said.
'Blown out of proportion'
President Aquino said the issuance of travel advisories was "blown out of proportion," not by media, but by foreign governments wary of being sued in case terrorists strike.
Mr. Aquino cited the case of the Australian government, which is fending off a class suit filed by its citizens for its failure to prevent the Bali bombing in the late 1990s in Indonesia, which killed hundreds of tourists, mostly Australians.
"As a result of that, their normal course of action, in light of any possible threat, is that they will duly inform the citizens to preclude any possibility of being accused," he said.
Likewise, the President pointed out that the government had not been apprised of the reported terror threats, which is contrary to practice, especially after the 9/11 terror attacks in the US.
"Shall we say that the analysis of the purported threats is not consistent with what these terror groups normally do, which is to inflict massive harm on random people," Mr. Aquino said, pointing out that specific targets of the alleged threats were security officials and two envoys.
"This is supposed to be directed to them. These are for mass terror actions, then suddenly it becomes specific. It's so inconsistent. At the end of the day, we were advised that Australia, for instance, is very sensitive lest they be accused of not warning their citizens," Mr. Aquino said.
"There was certainty that it's going to happen. That's the message, but it was lost in translation," he said, noting that the raw intelligence report never reached the verification stage, which should have been the normal course of action.
"The 'sure' part was lost in the translation. That 'sure' part was not brought out properly," he said. "Hence, it impacts negatively on our tourism, it adds unnecessary anxiety to our citizens and those who will be coming to us."
"I'm not sure that we were given official notice that this is going to happen. I won't say notice of a travel advisory. You don't expect media to have the capability to be intelligence analysts," he added.
"At the present time, none of our security services claimed that there is any call to change our assessments, especially as regards to foreign threats," Mr. Aquino said.
Speaker's appeal
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., meanwhile, called on the foreign governments that issued travel advisories to share whatever information they might have on possible terror threats so authorities could make the appropriate response.
"We are calling on our (foreign) allies, especially their intelligence agencies, to share with us what they know, what this is all about," Belmonte said.
"Why don't they just inform us? What are we allies for? They should share whatever information that they may have so that our authorities can find out if there is really basis for those (warnings), and so that we can respond and address these concerns," he said.
"If they think their information... is for the well-being and the safety of their citizens, then I think the information is also vital for the well-being and safety of our fellow Filipinos," he said.
Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon, for his part, said the country's diplomatic channels "must be activated and check out if the threat is real by way of possession of information that they have."
"I assume they are allies, so as allies, they should share their information with us," Biazon said.
"In our own backyard, I'm wondering why the two major intelligence gathering agencies, the AFP and the PNP, had different announcements," he said.
He called the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) the "missing agency," saying "it is supposed to be the last receptacle of all intelligence information for proper evaluation."
"I'm sure intelligence agencies are working 24/7 and they also have their own sources that could somehow give indication whether there is really an imminent and credible terrorist threat or not without jeopardizing whatever operations, if any, they have. Information is always important to the public so that they remain calm yet vigilant," Ang Kasangga party-list Rep. Teodorico Haresco said.
Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay, for her part, hit Malacañang for its "confusing" pronouncements on the terror alerts coming from foreign governments.
"What is happening to our PNP, DND and DILG and other agencies? Malacañang is saying President P-Noy (President Aquino) is on top of the situation? What situation are they talking about when they are in the dark?" Magsaysay said.
She also cited the huge intelligence budgets of Mr. Aquino and other agencies. "What are they doing with these billions in intelligence and confidential funds?" Magsaysay said.
Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, meanwhile, called for a congressional inquiry into the country's crisis response system and readiness against any terrorist attacks.
"Do we now actually even have a plan of action against any planned terrorist attacks in our country? We have to be ready now," Evardone said.
Don't ignore 'threat'
For Senate Minority Leader Alan Cayetano, the Palace should not belittle the alleged terror threat.
"This country is saying there is no basis. The other is saying there is a basis. How do we get to the bottom of it? Either Malacañang allows the news to die, and our tourism might be affected, or they get the information," Cayetano said.
"If this has to be handled in an executive session, I would understand because terrorism is not a joke. But it cannot be handled by a simple denial," he said.
He also lamented that the travel alerts came in the midst of positive gains by the new administration "on several fronts."
He also found it "uncanny" that the terror alerts came at a time when President Aquino set the stage for a review of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
"It's hard to accuse without hard evidence but the timing is uncanny. I think what would be prudent is for the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs), and I think for the President, to communicate with these embassies what are their basis. And if the basis is valid and then we have to address that," Cayetano said.
"So it's a serious charge that someone is trying to sabotage, or someone is trying to use those powers in order to gain leverage for something like the VFA. I am not ready to say that it is linked. But I am ready to say to the President, it's not enough to say that walang (no) basis," Cayetano added.
Sen. Gregorio Honasan, chairman of the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs, said that while terror threats have become common after the Sept.11 attacks in the US, the country should not let its guard down.
"If the US was not spared from these attacks, what more the other countries?" Honasan said over radio station dwIZ.
"So let's not disregard, we should have permanent preparations because the terror threats are permanent threats but there is no need to unnecessarily alarm the public by exaggerating this," Honasan said. - With Paolo Romero, Pia Lee Brago and Christina Mendez
Noy off to Tokyo, Yokohama next week By Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star) Updated November 05, 2010 12:00 AM Comments (50)
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced yesterday that President Aquino is set to leave next week to attend his first Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Meeting in Yokohama, Japan from Nov. 12 to 15.
The DFA said Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo would accompany the President.
Mr. Aquino will lead the Philippine delegation in actively engaging APEC member-economies to enhance the country's leading role in the advocacy for human resources development, employment creation, addressing the social dimensions of globalization, and sustaining cooperation in economic and technical cooperation for developing economies to foster 21st century competitiveness.
The DFA said various heads of state have expressed interest to meet with President Aquino at the sidelines of the 18th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting to discuss bilateral trade and development opportunities for the Philippines.
The President will also meet members of the Filipino community in Japan, where more than a thousand Filipinos in the Yokohama region alone are expected to greet him.
With the 18th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting's theme of "Change and Action," APEC will build upon its past successes by proposing necessary changes and actions to ensure its continued relevance in shaping the region's future.
APEC economies will also consider future directions for the region, taking off from a vision for a New Growth Paradigm for a changed post-crisis landscape that was adopted by leaders in 2008 in Lima, Peru.
At the 18th Economic Leaders Meeting, APEC will assess its achievements vis a vis the Bogor (Indonesia) goals of free and open trade and investments. Specifically, developed economy members of APEC shall be assessed whether they had achieved these goals. The APEC is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries or member-economies that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Established in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional economic blocs in other parts of the world, APEC works to raise living standards and education levels through sustainable economic growth and to foster a sense of community and an appreciation of shared interests among Asia-Pacific countries.
APEC members account for approximately 40 percent of the world's population, approximately 54 percent of world gross domestic product (GDP) and about 44 percent of world trade.
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