PHNOM PENH (Via PLDT) – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo lauded the members of the Filipino community here for being worthy partners of the people of Cambodia in nation-building even as she exhorted them to help and support her administration in its efforts to build a strong Republic.

After just one year, Filipinos here in Cambodia made their mark as managers, engineers, teachers and school administrators, entertainers, doctors, social workers, agricultural experts and members of religious organizations, among many other callings, the President said in her speech before close to a thousand members of the Filipino community gathered at the Cambodiana Hotel.

"You have been our exemplar of the great Filipino worker, known worldwide for discipline, talent, professionalism and a shepherding and compassionate spirit," she told the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The President, who is on her first visit to Cambodia, encouraged the OFWs here to be the Philippines’ ambassadors of goodwill and to "maintain our friendly relations with the Cambodian government and people."

The President asked the members of Filipino community led by chairman Antonio Gomez to maintain their bond with their homeland and "deepen further your appreciation of your national identity."

The President said she was proud that Filipinos have been worthy partners of the people of Cambodia in nation building.

"Your contribution to democracy is important as our contribution as a country is important. You were sent here to oversee the transition to democracy because the Philippines… (is) the most vibrant and dynamic democracy in Asia. And we are very proud of it and we are very proud of you," she said.

The Chief Executive told the members of the Filipino community that no president can build a strong Republic single handedly.

"I can do this well only if I can count on the support of the more than 7- million Filipinos overseas. You are the wellspring of support, the network of Filipinos all over the world, that I am counting on," she declared.

The President thanked the overseas workers for their care and support to their Filipino brothers and to their country as a whole.

"Ipagpatuloy natin ang ating magagandang gawain, ang ating pagbubuklod-buklod, at ang ating pagkakaisa (Let us continue to do our good work, and remain united), she said.

"Even as you are helping build a new Cambodian nation, help me build a strong Republic," the President said..

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Via PLDT) – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo underscored the importance of the overseas voting bill among Filipinos working or residing abroad which has passed both houses of Congress.

"Through this act of empowerment, we envision our overseas Filipinos to have a greater stake in governance and the future direction of our country," the President said in a speech before the officers and members of the Filipino community in Cambodia during a reception held yesterday at the Cambodiana Hotel here.

The President asked the close to 1,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Cambodia to pray that the House of Representatives and the Senate can iron out their conflicting provisions of the overseas voting bill soon "because as soon as they do so, I will it sign into law within 24 hours."

The President recalled that she filed an overseas voting bill when she was still a senator.

"But like many other overseas voting bills before and after mine, my bill did not even progress beyond the committee level. So when I became President, I certified as one of my five most urgent bills -- the overseas voting bill," she stressed.

The President asked the Filipino community led by its chairman Antonio Gomez to maintain their bond with their homeland and "deepen further your appreciation of your national identity."

Gomez, meanwhile, pledged the support of the Filipino community in Cambodia to the Macapagal-Arroyo government and its programs and projects, particularly the overseas voting bill.

"Ikinagagalak namin na sa oras na maging batas at maging epektibo ito, magkakaroon din kami ng pagkakataon sa wakas na magpasiya sa pagpili ng mga taong mamumuno sa ating mahal na bayan (We are happy that when the overseas voting bill is signed into law and becomes effective, we will be able to choose the leaders we want to lead our country)," Gomez said.

Gomez said the passage of the overseas voting bill represents the Macapagal-Arroyo administration’s care and support for the overseas Filipinos who, despite their being away from the Philippines, have remained Filipinos in heart and spirit.

He also informed the President that the members of the Filipino community in Cambodia are also supporting her other programs, particularly on poverty alleviation and socio-economic reforms, livelihood, housing, and education which are all aimed at helping the poor.

"We are also one with the President in her efforts to fight terrorism and poverty in the country," Gomez said.

PHNOM PENH (Via PLDT) – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo underscored Sunday the need for the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to intensify sub-regional cooperation against terrorism not only under the Greater Mekong sub-region but also under the BIMP-EAGA ( Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area).

The President told other Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) heads of state and government attending the Eighth Summit here that the development of BIMP-EAGA should remain in a very high priority concern of the four participating governments because "this is where Jemaah Islamiya (JI) terrorists have located their training camps, taking advantage of these areas and the high poverty incidence of its residents."

The President, accompanied by a few members of her Cabinet, arrived here Sunday afternoon to attend the two-day Eighth Asean Summit which opened this morning.

"The development of BIMP-EAGA is precisely being undertaken to address this backwardness and high poverty incidence and, therefore, is a necessary parallel economic effort alongside the intelligence, police, and military actions being utilized in medium and long-term plans to eliminate the security and terrorism threat in the sub-region," the President said.

The President requested that officials responsible for implementing the Trilateral Agreement Against Terrorism be instructed to give special focus on the BIMP-EAGA areas because of the presence of the JI training camps and recent terrorist acts reportedly perpetrated by the JI in North Sulawesi and Mindanao.

Officials responsible for BIMP-EAGA, the President said, should now focus their activities on programs and projects that would clearly contribute to enhancing security in the sub-region.

The President pointed out that Customs, Immigration and Quarantine officials of the most active ports in BIMP-EAGA should further intensify their communication and coordination to prevent the movement of terrorists and criminal elements through these sensitive borders such as General Santos City-Manado and Zamboanga-Sandakan.

She further recommended that BIMP-EAGA officials undertake a massive information and communication program within BIMP-EAGA to expand stakeholder awareness of BIMP-EAGA and elicit their support to combat terrorism and criminal activities which are now the main obstacle to the development of the sub-region.

"An objective of this information and communication program would be to increase the participation of local government leaders who, because of the new autonomy laws in Indonesia and the Philippines, are now in the forefront on both development and security programs," she added.

The President exhorted BIMP-EAGA officials, with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), to focus their efforts specifically to the small and medium enterprise sector as this is the sector of the business community whose presence and commitment to invest in BIMP-EAGA has been the least affected by the increasing security concerns.

She suggested that BIMP-EAGA officials focus their investment and tourism marketing efforts in China and Korea as the interest of these countries in the BIMP food products and tourism services remains strong in spite of the recent incidents.

For the medium and long term, the President said, "we could undertake economic initiatives, such as the formulation of a three-year BIMP-EAGA Strategic Development Plan, including a review and update of the 1996 ADB investigative study."

The President expressed confidence that under the leadership of Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen of Cambodia, the Eighth Asean Summit and the summit meetings with the four leaders will be fruitful and will enrich and build upon the existing strong bonds of geopolitical affinity, history and kinship.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Via PLDT) – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called on the other leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to push for the implementation of the Agreement on Information Exchange and Establishment of Communications Procedures "more vigorously by upgrading our intelligence exchange and carrying out joint border patrols."

"One of the steps we took immediately following our summit last year was the signing of the Agreement on Information Exchange and Establishment of Communications Procedures among Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, with Cambodia acceding last July," the President told other Asean leaders here.

The President said she is looking forward to Thailand and Brunei Darussalam acceding to this agreement during the Eighth Asean Leaders Summit which had its first working meeting this morning. Asean is composed of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar.

She also said that later this week in Manila, the Philippines is hosting an anti-terrorism conference with the World Tourism Organization.

"In accordance with one of our initiatives in last year’s summit, the Philippines will host a Multilateral Seminar Game on Emergency Responses to Terrorist Threats sometime in December this year or early next year," she said.

The President explained that the simulation is a practicum in security cooperation.

She added that her government intends to test existing hotlines and person-to-person contacts for coordinating anti-terrorist operations.

"We could explore sharing of airline passenger lists and shipping passenger manifests to fix and apprehend suspects. We could also simulate the deployment of more law enforcement officials to identified entry and exit points used by potential terrorists," she declared.

The President also said that it is high time that Regional e-Security is included in the implementation of the e-Asean initiative.

As a first step in this direction, the President said two proposals could be considered.

One, is the creation of a working group on critical infrastructure security.

"This working group, which will be a sub-unit within the E-Asean Working Group will discuss Regional Information and Communications Technology (ICT) concerns and will update the Asean senior officials on the matter," she said.

PHNOM PENH, (Via PLDT) – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo presented Sunday short, medium and long-term measures to curb terrorism, as she stressed the need for Southeast Asia to approach the problem in a holistic, complementary and time-bound manner.

The President cited the urgency for the regional grouping to dispel speculations that the region has become the main focus of terrorism.

The President said that Asean must address the perception that the network of international terrorism has shifted to Southeast Asia, stressing that it is now time to intensify security cooperation in the region.

The President reiterated the common sentiment of Asean leaders, sympathizing with Indonesia for the tragic bomb attacks in Bali that killed 180 people, many of them foreign tourists.

"For the second time, the bell has tolled for ASEAN and the world community to unite against a common menace threatening global peace and security," the President told the other leaders attending the Eighth Asean Summit here.

As an immediate short-term measure, the President said Asean leaders should concentrate on enhancing security and security cooperation.

This, she said, is due to the fact that it is the perception that the region is a hotbed of terrorism that is discouraging the development of the sub-region.

The President said this could be initially addressed by using the existing hotlines and person-to-person contacts for coordinating anti-terrorist operations, sharing of airline passenger lists and shipping passenger manifests and the deployment of more law enforcement officials to identified illegal entry and exit points.

For the medium and long-term, the President said Asean could look to the strategic development plan already adopted by the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), as well as the investigative study of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 1996 as a framework in fighting terrorism.

The President said it is only after the Asean has effectively addressed the problem of terrorism that the regional could maximize its growth potentials.

Asean leaders are under pressure to prove to the rest of the world that they can curb terrorism, especially in the light of warnings from the United States that more attacks could be staged in the region.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Via PLDT) – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the nine leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) signed today a landmark Tourism Agreement aimed at strengthening the tourism industry and enhancing intra-regional travel among Asean member-countries.

The agreement was signed one by one by President Macapagal-Arroyo representing the Republic of the Philippines and the heads of state and government of Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam during the first day of the Eighth Asean Summit this afternoon at the Intercontinental Hotel here.

The region’s 10 leaders underscored the strategic importance of the tourism industry for sustainable socio-economic growth of the member-states.

They also noted the diversity in cultures, economy, and the complementary advantages across the region which would benefit the tourism development of Asean in the pursuit of improved regional quality of life, peace and prosperity.

The objectives of the agreement include the following:

• To cooperate in facilitating travel into and within Asean;

• To enhance cooperation in the tourism industry among Asean member-states in order to improve efficiency and competitiveness;

• To substantially reduce restrictions to trade in tourism and travel services among member-states;

• To establish an integrated network of tourism and travel services in order to maximize the complementary nature of the region’s tourist attractions;

• To enhance the development and promotion of Asean as a single tourism destination with world-class standards, facilities and attractions;

• To enhance mutual assistance in human resource development and strengthen cooperation to develop, upgrade and expand tourism and travel facilities and services in the region; and

• To create favorable conditions for the public and private sectors to engage more deeply in tourism development, intra-Asean travel and investment in tourism services and facilities.

Under the agreement, the member-states shall facilitate travel within and into Asean by:

• Extending visa exemption arrangement for nationals of Asean member-states traveling within the region on the basis of bilateral visa exemption agreements;

• Harmonizing the procedures for issuing visas to international travelers;

• Phasing out travel levies and travel taxes on nationals of Asean member-states traveling to other member-states;

• Encouraging the use of smart cards for Asean business and frequent travelers and, where appropriate, for cross-border travel on the basis of bilateral agreements concluded between member- states that are ready to do so;

• Improving communications with international travelers through the use of universal symbols and multi-lingual signs and forms; and

• Easing the process of issuance of travel documents and progressively reducing all travel barriers.

The member-states shall also facilitate transport within and into Asean by:

• Cooperating in promoting accessibility by air to and amongst member-states through the progressive liberalization of air services;

• Improving the efficiency of airport management and other related services;

• Developing appropriate policies to encourage cruising, travel by ferries, and leisure boats by providing adequate infrastructure and facilitating seamless travel;

• Enhancing cooperation in developing measures in support of efficient and safe travel and tourism in terms of land transport and travel insurance; and

• Encouraging cooperation and commercial arrangements among ASEAN airlines.

On market access, the Asean member-states shall conduct continuous negotiations on trade in tourism services as provided for by the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services.

The agreement further says that member-states shall ensure quality tourism by undertaking the following measures:

• Encouraging all levels of government and local communities to carry out programs to ensure the preservation, conservation and promotion of the natural, cultural and historical heritage of member-states;

• Encouraging visitors to learn, respect and help preserve the natural, cultural and historical heritage of member-states;

• Encouraging where appropriate the adoption of environmental management standards and certification programs for sustainable tourism and for assessing and monitoring the impact of tourism on local communities, culture and nature, especially in environmentally and culturally sensitive areas;

• Promoting the use of environmentally sound technologies to preserve and conserve the natural heritage, the ecosystems and biodiversity and to protect endangered flora and fauna as well as micro-organisms;

• Strengthening measures to prevent tourism-related threats on and exploitation of cultural heritage and natural resources; and

• Taking stern measures to prevent tourism related abuse and exploitation of people, particularly women and children.

The agreement stipulates that member-states shall ensure the safety and security of travelers by stepping up cooperation among law-enforcement agencies in charge of tourist safety and security; intensifying the sharing of information on immigration matters among law enforcement agencies; and taking all necessary measures to ensure communications and assistance systems to deal with visitors’ concerns.

Records showed that international arrivals to Asean in 2001 grew by 6.43 percent compared to the previous year, with some 41-million international visitors to Asean last year, marking an increase of 2.5 million in 2000.

PHNOM PENH (Via PLDT) – All the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) today formally accepted the invitation of the Philippine government to attend the International Conference on Anti-Terrorism and Tourism Recovery set for next week in Manila.

The acceptance of the invitation was contained in the declaration on terrorism issued by the 10 Asean member-states in their eighth summit here.

The Asean leaders issued a strong declaration projecting the region’s strong determination to fight terrorism as they were concerned over the warnings of the United States that more attacks could be staged in the region.

The US State Department issued a statement expressing concern "that individuals and groups may be planning terrorist actions against US citizens and interests, as well as sites frequented by Westerners" in Southeast Asia.

In the declaration, the 10 countries in the region stressed that "we are determined to carry out and build on the specific measures outlined in the Asean Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism, which we adopted in Brunei Darussalam in November 2001."

"We resolve to intensify our efforts collectively and individually to prevent, counter and suppress the activities of terrorist groups in the region. The Asean countries shall continue with practical cooperative measures among ourselves and with the international community," the declaration stated.

In the same declaration, Asean states lashed out at the members of the international community that tend to indiscriminately issuing travel advisories against trips to countries in Southeast Asia, warning that such actions serve no purpose but to help terrorists achieve their objectives.

"We call on the international community to avoid indiscriminately advising their citizens to refrain from visiting or dealing with our countries in the absence of established evidence to substantiate rumors of possible terrorist attacks, as such measures could only help achieve the objectives of the terrorists," the leaders stressed.

Asean nations also deplored "the tendency in some quarters to identify terrorism with particular religions or ethic groups," even as they denounced "once again the use of terror, with its toll on human life and society, in many places around the world for whatever cause and in the name of whatever religious or ethnic aspiration."

Assuring the rest of the world of Asean’s determination to cooperate actively in mitigating the adverse impact of terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia, the leaders urged "the international community to support Asean’s effort to combat terrorism and restore business confidence in the region."

Asean leaders also took advantage of the summit to air their collective condemnation of "the heinous terrorist attacks in Bali, Indonesia, and in the Philippine cities of Zamboanga and Quezon."

"We extend our deepest sympathies to the families of those who died and to those who were injured. We express the solidarity of our countries with Indonesia and the Philippines and Asean full support for their determined pursuit of the terrorist elements responsible for the attacks," the state leaders declared.

They likewise commended the Philippines and Indonesia "for their efforts to curtail terrorism within their borders and for their determination to step up those efforts."

The conference in Manila was just among the activities the Asean set as part of the efforts to curb terrorism in the region.

The other activities include the regional conference on combating money-laundering and terrorist financing scheduled in Bali in December and the Intersessional Meeting on Terrorism of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah in March next year.

Asean leaders also agreed to hold a ministerial meeting on transnational crimes with ministerial counterparts from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea in Bangkok in October next year.

PHNOM PENH (Via PLDT) – Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and China today issued a Joint Declaration on Cooperation in the Field of Non-Traditional Security Issues.

In the Joint Declaration, China and the 10 Asean states pledged to cooperate in addressing the problems of terrorism, trafficking in illegal drugs, people smuggling including trafficking of women and children, sea piracy, arms smuggling, money laundering, international economic crime and cyber crime.

The 10 Asean members are the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, Myanmar, Lao, Vietnam and Cambodia.

The 11 countries committed to strengthen information exchange; personnel exchange and training as well as capacity-building; joint research on non-traditional security issues; and the exploration of other areas and modalities of cooperation.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo earlier today stressed before Asean leaders the urgency of efforts to further enhance person-to-person contacts for coordinating anti-terrorist operations; sharing of airline passenger lists and shipping passenger manifests; and the deployment of more law enforcement officials to identified illegal entry and exit points.

These measures, the President said, are necessary, if Asean is to erase the perception that the region is a hotbed for terrorism.

The 11 countries declared their commitment to "enhance their capacity in dealing with non-traditional security issues; promote their stability and development and safeguard regional peace and security."

The 11 state leaders also committed to "task our Ministers concerned to follow up on the implementation of this declaration."

The declaration also provides that Asean and China will "use existing Asean mechanisms, as far as possible, such as the Asean Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime and the Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime, to pursue the cooperation."

"Long-term and mid-term cooperation plans will be formulated based on the purposes and principles of the Joint Declaration to serve as guidance for cooperation," the leaders stated.