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| 09 MARCH 2008 | . | |
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| 09 MARCH 2008 | . | |
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| Siazon denies Drilon's claim |
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Philippine Ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon Jr. denied last night a
statement attributed to him by former Senate President Franklin Drilon of
alleged US displeasure over the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU)
signed by the Philippines, China and Vietnam in 2005. Last Saturday, a Philippine daily quoted Drilon as saying: “Ambassador Siazon told me sometime in 2005 that the US was pissed off with the Philippines warming up to China as evidenced by these deals, contracts and loans that we have entered into with China.” In a letter emailed to Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) last night, Siazon said the dinner meeting in the ambassador’s Tokyo residence in 2005 that Drilon mentioned did not take place, and the “embassy has the documents to prove this.” Following is the full text of Siazon’s letter to Bunye: Dear Secretary Bunye, I was quite surprised to be quoted by former Senate President Franklin Drilon in the Enquirer Article of today titled: "Spratlys deals irked US, says Drilon." According to the Enquirer, former Senate President Drilon said: "Ambassador Siazon told me sometime in 2005 that the US was pissed off with the Philippines warming up to China as evidenced by these deals, contracts and loans that we have entered into with China." The Enquirer article further states that "He made the statement to me in his house in Tokyo when I came for a visit and in that dinner, he gathered several Japanese legislators." First of all, in 2005, no dinner was held at the Ambassador's residence with the presence of former Senate President Drilon. The embassy has the documents to prove this. Second, except for the agreement to do a joint seismic study which I had not read at all, I was not aware of deals, contracts and loans that had been entered into with China. Third, in my profession and long experience as a diplomat, it is highly unlikey that in my conversations with the third highest official of the Philippines, I would be using the word "p....d." Most likely, I solicited the support of then Senate President Franklin Drilon to convince President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resume visiting Japan as her last visit was in December 2003. In the past, since September 2001 to December 2003, the President had visited Japan five times, including a State Visit. I would appreciate it, Mr. Secretary, if you could make this statement public. Sincerely Yours, Domingo L. Siazon Jr. |
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| Statement of the President |
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It is a sad day for democracy and our region that Myanmar has rejected the
proposal put forward by the United Nations for outside observers to the May
election. The very integrity of the UN has been rejected by a nation that
wishes to be taken seriously by its neighbors and the world. A central pillar of democracy is a free and fair election. Outside observers are not a threat to any nation’s sovereignty. Rather, the participation of outside election observers is a sign of strength. These observers help show the world the credibility of the election process itself. We have long had observers in the Philippines and they have helped solidify and advance our democracy. It is not too late for the government of Myanmar to accept the modest proposal by the UN. I call on the government in Myanmar to do the right thing and allow outside observers. It is a small but modest step toward democratization that is long overdue in Myanmar. |
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| Joint statement of former Energy Secretary Vince Perez and former PNOC President Eduardo V. Manalac |
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The Tripartite Agreement for a Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) is a
three year commercial agreement by CNOOC, PetroVietnam, and PNOC to jointly
gather seismic data in certain areas of the South China Sea. Energy Independence: With our high dependence on imported petroleum and with rising oil prices in 2004, the government launched an ambitious five-point energy independence agenda (develop indigenous petroleum resources, promote renewable power, increase use of alternative fuels, form regional strategic alliances, and strengthen energy conversation programs). The JMSU was part of our five-point energy independence agenda, to find and develop new indigenous petroleum reserves. Constitutionality: PNOC was extremely careful and consistent in ensuring the constitutionality of the JMSU. PNOC closely coordinated with concerned agencies such as the DOE, DFA and DOJ, to ensure complete staff work. The JMSU is a commercial agreement between three national oil companies to jointly acquire seismic data. No exploration, drilling, and production activities were covered by the agreement. The JMSU is simply a data gathering effort among the three oil companies. The JMSU is not a treaty. If at the end of the 3-year term of the JMSU, no new definitive agreements are agreed on, then the JMSU expires by June 2008. The President did not sign the JMSU, nor did the Department of Energy. However, the approval of the respective governments of the three oil companies was required to make the commercial agreement binding. The JMSU explicitly stated that the signing of the commercial agreement shall not undermine the position held by the Philippine Government over the South China Sea. The agreement is designed to be scientific in nature and does not affect any territorial claims of the Philippine government. Oil Diplomacy The JMSU was supported by the Philippine Government to promote regional energy security. It hoped to contribute to the transformation of the South China Sea into an area of peace, cooperation and development. It was part of a strategic alliance to promote regional energy security, to lessen the region’s dependence on Middle East oil. |
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| Siazon "pissed off" by Drilon's claim |
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Another top government official has twitted former Senate President Franklin
Drilon on the latter’s statements on the Joint Marine Seismic Understanding
(JMSU) signed by the Philippines, China and Vietnam. Philippine Ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon said Saturday that contrary to Drilon’s claim, no dinner meeting took place at the ambassador’s residence in Tokyo in 2005 that the former senator attended. “Ambassador Siazon told me sometime in 2005 that the US was pissed off with the Philippines warming up to China as evidenced by these deals, contracts and loans that we have entered into with China,” Drilon was quoted as saying by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. In a letter he emailed to Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye Saturday evening, Siazon said he was “quite surprised” to have been quoted by Drilon in the PDI story headlined, "Spratlys deals irked US." Siazon told Bunye he would appreciate it if his reply to Drilon’s claims could be made public. “First of all, in 2005, no dinner was held at the Ambassador's residence with the presence of former Senate President Drilon. The embassy has the documents to prove this,” Siazon, a former foreign affairs secretary, said. “Second, except for the agreement to do a joint seismic study which I had not read at all, I was not aware of deals, contracts and loans that had been entered into with China,” he added. He also pointed out that considering his “profession and long experience as a diplomat, it is highly unlikely that in my conversations with the third highest official of the Philippines, I would be using the word "p....d." Siazon said that if ever he did talk to Drilon, it was to solicit his support in convincing President Arroyo to make another visit to Japan as her last visit was in Dec. 2003. “In the past, since September 2001 to December 2003, the President had visited Japan five times, including a State Visit,” Siazon added. Earlier yesterday, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales had also rapped Drilon for the latter’s double standard in judging seismic projects. Gonzalez blasted Drilon for claiming that the JMSU could get the President impeached even as Drilon himself had supported a similar seismic project between the Philippines and Australia in 1990. The 1990 opinion issued by the DOJ under Drilon on the RP-Australia seismic project said: “The proposed offshore seismic project aims to provide data and expertise to the Philippine government in the determination and development of significant domestic energy resources and to provide training and data gathering, processing and interpretation techniques which would be useful in the future especially to administer petroleum exploration and development activities effectively.” “As we see it, the project proposal which involves data gathering, processing and interpretation technique are only pre-exploration activities which are not covered by constitutional limitations,” Drilon stated at the time. |
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| PGMA laments Myanmar's rebuff of UN bid on referendum observers |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today she was saddened by Myanmar’s
rejection of the United Nations (UN) proposal to allow independent observers
to monitor its upcoming national referendum on a new constitution and
forthcoming election. In a statement, the President said that Myanmar’s action was a strong rebuff of the UN, and called on Rangoon’s military rulers to rethink their position. “The very integrity of the UN has been rejected by a nation that wishes to be taken seriously by its neighbors and the world,” she said. Myanmar rejected the proposal made by UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari Saturday, saying it infringed on Myanmar’s (formerly Burma) sovereignty. “It is a sad day for democracy and our region that Myanmar has rejected the proposal put forward by the United Nations for outside observers to the May election. The very integrity of the UN has been rejected by a nation that wishes to be taken seriously by its neighbors and the world,” the President said. Saying that a “central pillar of democracy is a free and fair election,” the Chief Executive pointed out that the inclusion of independent observers to monitor elections is “not a threat to any nation’s sovereignty,” on the contrary, it is a “sign of strength.” “These observers help show the world the credibility of the election process itself,” the President said, adding that in Philippine election processes, outside observers “have helped solidify and advance our democracy.” She added that it is “not too late for the government of Myanmar to accept the modest proposal by the UN. I call on the government of Myanmar to do the right thing and allow outside observers. It is a small but modest step toward democratization that is long overdue in Myanmar.” |
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| JMSU not a treaty; does not violate RP's Constitution -- Perez, Manalac |
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A former Cabinet member and the former president of the Philippine National
Oil Company (PNOC) clarified today that the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking
(JMSU) signed by the Philippines, China and Vietnam is “simply a data
gathering effort among three oil companies” and not a treaty. In a joint statement issued this afternoon, former Energy Secretary Vince Perez and former PNOC president Eduardo V. Manalac also stressed that neither President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo nor the energy department signed the three-year JMSU which expires in June this year. “If at the end of the 3-year term of the JMSU, no new definitive agreements are agreed on, then the JMSU expires by June 2008,” the two former government officials added. They pointed out that the JMSU was intended to ease the country’s dependence on imported oil. “With our dependence on imported petroleum and with rising oil prices in 2004, the government launched an ambitious five-point energy independence agenda,” Perez and Manalac said. This energy program, they added, centered on the development of indigenous petroleum resources, the promotion of renewable power, increased use of alternative fuels, forming regional strategic alliances, and strengthening energy convergence initiatives. “The JMSU was part of our five-point energy independence agenda, to find and develop new indigenous petroleum reserves,” they said. The two former energy officials said that the tripartite agreement also “explicitly stated that the signing of the commercial agreement shall not undermine the position held by the Philippine Government over the South China Sea.” Being a mere commercial agreement, the three-year (2005-2008) understanding among China’s CNOOC, Vietnam’s PetroVietnam, and the Philippines’ PNOC to jointly gather seismic data in certain areas of the South China Sea was not signed by the President, nor by the DOE, Perez and Manalac stressed. However, the “approval of the respective governments of the three oil companies was required to make the commercial agreement binding.” They also pointed out that the JMSU did not in any way violate the 1987 Constitution, as the PNOC “was extremely careful and consistent in ensuring the constitutionality of the JMSU.” “PNOC closely coordinated with concerned agencies such as the DOE, DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) and DOJ (Department of Justice), to ensure complete staff work,” Perez and Manalac explained. “The agreement is designed to be scientific in nature and does not affect any territorial claims of the Philippine government… The JMSU was supported by the Philippine Government to promote regional energy security,” said Perez and Manalac, who cited the importance of oil diplomacy among Asian countries. The JMSU was intended to “contribute to the transformation of the South China Sea into an area of peace, cooperation and development. It was part of a strategic alliance to promote regional energy security, to lessen the regional dependence on Middle East oil,” they said. |
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| PGMA to address Midanao Coop Summit |
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CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo reaffirms her
administration's support to the cooperative movement when she addresses
tomorrow the 4th Mindanao Cooperative Summit at The Atrium of the Lim Ket
Kai Center here. The President will formally open the one-day summit, with the theme, "Sustaining the Economy, Achieving Ecological Integrity, Empowering Communities Yes, Cooperative Can." The President will be welcomed by local officials led by Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar Moreno, Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Constantino Jaraula, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, and Vice Mayor Vicente Emano. Attending the summit are hundreds of cooperative leaders coming from the six regions of Mindanao - from Regions IX to XII including the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the CARAGA region. Also expected to attend the summit are representatives of local government units (LGUs), non-government organizations (NGOs), and members of the academe and business sectors. The President has been enjoining Filipinos to join cooperatives as part of her jobs creation and poverty reduction program through the provision of micro-finance and other livelihood programs. As partners of government in national development, cooperatives could help her realize her goal of creating 10 million jobs for Filipinos, especially in the countryside, through unity and self-reliance, the President said. The summit is being spearheaded by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) and the Regional Cooperative Development Council (RCDCs) in Mindanao. |
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