Philippine President Arroyo meets with PM Rudd
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008THE PHILIPPINE CONSULATE GENERAL in Sydney reports that Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd were among the 90 world leaders who went to Beijing to watch the August 8 opening ceremonies of the 29th Olympics Games.
The heads of state were officially received by Chinese President Hu Jintao in a lavish state luncheon.
Pres Gloria Arroyo
President Arroyo shared the table of President Hu, Madam Liu Xonqing, and 26 world leaders, who included President George Bush, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo, and Malaysian King Tuanku Mizai Zainal Abidin.
President Arroyo met with PM Rudd and discussed several matters concerning Philippine-Australian relations.
President Arroyo invited the Prime Minister to Manila in October, in time for the Second Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) and the Philippine-Australian Ministerial Meeting (PAMM).
The GFMD is an international consultative body involving 115 governments that develops for their respective countries policies, programs, and actions on matters regarding migration and socio-economic development. Initiated ten years ago by then-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the GFMD seeks to strengthen the links between migration and development policies in practical and action-oriented ways.
The PAMM is the regular formal meeting between the Philippine Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Secretary for Trade and Industry and the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. It is a high-level meeting for the two countries to discuss matters concerning bilateral relations, which covers security cooperation, development assistance, trade, and institutional exchanges.
President Arroyo also requested Australia’s support for the Philippine candidature to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at elections to be held in September 2008. The Philippines’ candidate to the ICJ is Miriam Defensor-Santiago, a senator and one of the country’s leading experts on international law. #
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Posted by Philippine Consulate General Sydney
on Aug 13 2008. Filed under Philippine Consulates, Philippines, Politics.
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Dear Editor,
Arroyo’s presence in the opening ceremony of the Olympics 2008 may be acceptable if only to show her support to the Philippine olympic team. Like the other heads of state who were there. But one wonders, why she had to stay in China for another 3 days? Would “sharing tables in a lavish luncheon” as reported by the Consulate be more important than attending to the country’s problems? If the Consulate believes that feeding us this kind of “feel good” story makes Filipinos feel good, then the Consulate is wrong. I for one feel like throwing up when I read or hear such stories that the Philippine president was “sharing table in a lavish luncheon” with other heads of state, when it is known that the country is in crisis. I also feel ashamed of being Filipino because the president’s behavior might be taken as being reflective of Filipino values.
The Consulate report is very revealing. It confirmed what others knew all along. Aside from learning that she was playing “big time” by sharing table with other heads of state, what else was confirmed? That she was lobbying for support for the election of Miriam Defensor-Santiago to the ICJ.
Were there other presidential errands not reported by the Consulate? Based on reports, Arroyo was in China too to stand witness to the signing of a $150 million private deal between a Chinese company and two Filipino corporations headed by her former chief of staff Michael Defensor. Where in the world could you find a president standing witness to the signing of a private business deal? Oh, please give us a break!