Caucus Chronicle Jan-Feb 07
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Volume 2, Issue 1 Jan-Feb 2007 Caucus Chronicle US-Philippines Friendship Caucus Newsletter FRIENDSHIP CAUCUS 4th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL ISSUE PHILIPPINE EMBASSY PHILIPPINE ARROYO LEADS IN BUILDING “ONE CARING & SHARING COMMUNITY” IN REGION Inside this issue: President Gloria Macapagal- The President, who chaired all "The peoples of Asia are the RP & Millennium Chal- 2 Arroyo today thanked the the meetings, said that the victors in these summits as we lenge Account leaders of the Asia-Pacific summits made the Filipinos march forward in the collec- Recommendations on 2 region for attending the 12th proud as they emerged trium- tive spirit of hope within this unexplained killings ASEAN Summit and the re- phant after the gatherings that century," the President said. welcome lated summits, which the Phil- produced several documents Aside from the 12th ASEAN Ambassador’s Corner 3 ippines successfully hosted with far-reaching benefits for (continued on p.9) here from Jan. 10 to 15. the peoples in the region. Caucus Member Focus 3 In her opening statement at the Together in this battle 4 press conference held on 15 Testimony excerpts January at the Cebu Interna- 5 tional Convention Center Arroyo. Romulo Caucus 6 (CICC), the President thanked anniversary messages the leaders for the honor they Caucus Photo Spread have bestowed on the Philip- 6 pines and for working in unity How it all began 7 in establishing a one caring President Arroyo with leaders from ASEAN member countries and dia- and sharing community in the logue partners Japan, China, Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand Early Roots of coopera- 8 and India before the formal opening of the 2nd East Asia Summit on Janu- tion region. ary 15, 2007 at the Cebu International Convention Center . (Julius Reyes) Arroyo on human rts 10 11 Arroyo on economy UNITY BEHIND VETERANS ISSUE; KEY BILLS FILED RP UPDATES Key groups and officials have agreed on a uni- organization and veterans advocacy groups from fied strategy to secure justice and equity for the all over the United States. Two representatives • Terror law near pas- Filipino WWII Veterans in the 110th US Con- from the Manila-based Veterans Foundation of sage gress. the Philippines also attended the conference. • ASEAN terror agree- ment signed in RP On 6–7 December 2007, the Philippine Em- At the heart of discussion during the conference • East Asia Energy bassy in Washington D.C. convened and were two major pieces of legislation pending in Agreement signed in hosted a national planning conference on the the U.S. Congress: H.R. 4574 (Filipino Veter- RP Filipino World War II Veterans issue. The con- ans Equity Act of 2006) – authored by Rep. • Melo unexplained killings report released ference was co-hosted by the National Federa- Darrell Issa, (Republican) of California with 39 tion of Filipino-American Associations other House Members as co-sponsors. • People Power com- memorated (NAFFAA) and attended by 73 leaders/ (continued on p.2) • Peso increases strength members representing 25 Filipino-American • Foreign portfolio in- vestments post huge net inflows RP DELIVERS MAJOR BLOW AGAINST TERROR • 2006 export earnings The last few months have seen ASG, which has links to the at 14%, exceeds targets the Armed Forces of the Phil- regional terrorist group Je- • Inflation continues to slow down to 3.9% in ippines deal decisive blows maah Islamiyah and to Al January against the leadership of the Qaeda, has been the subject of • 5.8% GDP forecast Abu Sayyaf terrorist group intense and sustained military growth for 2007 (ASG). Two top leaders of the offensives aimed at eliminat- • $1.2 B projected 2007 ASG, Khadaffy Janjalani and ing their ability to carry out savings to infrastruc- Abu Solaiman, were killed in terrorist acts. ture, social services separate encounters with Phil- • Coke invests $600M (continued on p. 8) RP,US troops prepare for joint train- ippine security forces. The ing exercises. Volume 2, Issue 1 Jan-Feb 2007 Page 2 The Millennium Challenge Account: Championing the Filipino, Promoting Good Governance With the support of the Millennium Chal- policies in three (3) key areas: Ruling Justly, lenge Corporation (MCC), the Philippines Investing in People, and Encouraging Eco- is reinvigorating its efforts to stamp-out nomic Freedom. corruption, plug revenue leaks, increase tax collection, and ultimately, channel As a Threshold Country, the Philippines’ more resources to poverty-reduction pro- inclusion in program is a recognition of the Demonstrating this country’s resolve to strengthen good govern- grams. resolve, President ance, promote the improved health and edu- On 26 July 2006, the Philippines was cation of Filipinos, and adopt sound eco- Macapagal Arroyo awarded US$21 million by the MCC to nomic policies that encourage entrepreneur- earmarked 1.0 implement a 2-year program on strength- ship and stimulate economic growth. billion pesos ening anti-corruption efforts and improv- (US$21 million) as ing revenue administration under the Demonstrating this resolve, President Maca- Threshold Country Program of the Millen- pagal Arroyo earmarked 1.0 billion pesos counterpart fund, nium Challenge Account (MCA). (US$21 million) as counterpart fund, the the first for an first for an MCA partner. MCC cited this According to Ambassador Willy C. Gaa, initiative as “unique and shows commitment MCA partner. MCC the MCC performs a crucial task in help- to succeed.” cited this initiative ing bring about positive change around the as “unique and There are four (4) components in the Philip- world. It is in this context that the Philip- shows pine Embassy, in its dialogues with the pine Threshold Program: commitment to members of the US Congress, consistently • Strengthen the Office of the Ombuds- expresses strong support for the MCC.` man; succeed.” The MCC assesses the degree to which the • Strengthen the Bureau of Internal Reve- political, social and economic policies in a nue (BIR) focusing on the Bureau’s Run country serve to promote broad-based sus- After (continued on p.10) tainable economic growth. It measures Gov't welcomes all recommendations in resolving unexplained killings Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said on Upon receipt of the report of the five-man 21 February 2007 that the government fact-finding body last month, the President welcomes all recommendations, including immediately issued several directives to dif- that of United Nations Special Rapporteur ferent government agencies, including the Philip Alston, in resolving the issue of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). extra-judicial killings and providing jus- These include the consolidation of the differ- tice to the families of the victims. ent government agencies and resources, invit- "The government is prepared to look into ing the international community including the Professor Alston’s recommendations and European Union to assist in the investiga- see how these can be dovetailed with the tions, ensuring the protection of witnesses, measures already slated by President Ar- fielding more special prosecutors and the royo as a result of the Melo Commission installation of special courts for human rights Report, such as the strengthening of the violations. Witness Protection Program (WPP) and The commission last week gave a confiden- the creation of special courts by the Su- tial briefing on their findings and recommen- After a ten day visit to the Philippines, preme Court," he said in a statement. Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on dations to Alston, who came to the country extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary To show that her administration is not on the invitation of the Arroyo administra- executions Alston praised President condoning the killings, President Gloria tion. Ar-royo for “unqualified cooperation” and said her government’s invitation Macapagal-Arroyo created the Melo Com- Upon reading the Melo Report, Alston ac- “reflects a clear recognition of the mission as early as August last year, gravity of the problem, a willingness to knowledged the independence of the fact- permit outside scrutiny and a very headed by retired Supreme Court Justice finding panel but recommended a more bal- welcome preparedness to engage on Jose Melo, to investigate and put a stop to anced outcome of the investigation because the issue.” the slaying of journalists and leftist ele- ments. (continued on p. 11) Volume 2, Issue 1 Jan-Feb 2007 Page 3 Caucus Members in Focus NANCY PELOSI (D-California) Ambassador’s strong proponent of increased invest- ments in health research, and has se- Corner Since 1987, Nancy Pelosi has repre- sented California's Eighth District in cured funding to double the budget for the House of Representatives. Over- the National Institutes of Health. whelmingly elected by her colleagues Pelosi has long been an advocate for in the fall of 2002 as Democratic human rights around the world. She Leader of the House of Representa- has fought to improve China's human tives, Nancy Pelosi is the first woman rights record, attempting to tie trade to in American history to lead a increased human rights stan- major party in the U.S. Con- dards. She has also been a gress. Before being elected leader on efforts to free the Leader, she served as House people of Tibet. Democratic Whip for one year and was responsible for the Pelosi hails from a strong party's legislative strategy in family tradition of public ser- the House. On January 4, vice. Her father, Thomas 2007, Nancy Pelosi was D'Alesandro, Jr., served as As we mark the fourth anniversary of the Mayor of Baltimore for 12 years, after establishment of the U.S.-Philippine elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. representing the city for five terms in Friendship Caucus, I would like to express Congress. Her brother, Thomas D'Ale- my heartfelt appreciation to all the Caucus As a senior member of the House Ap- sandro III, also served as Mayor of members for their steadfast and valuable propriations Committee, Pelosi fought Baltimore.