In a press briefing in Malacaņang after the NSC meeting, the second held within the month, National Security Adviser J. Roilo Golez said the NSC also responded positively to the resolution of the US Congress authorizing US President George W. Bush to use force, if necessary, against Iraq.

"The response of the Philippine government is that we feel that this is in accordance with the expected timetable and, therefore, we are maintaining our current policy and its framework as already enunciated on September 17 by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and reiterated and supported and adopted by NSC in its meeting last October 1," Golez said.

The President also convened the NSC last October 1 to primarily discuss contingency measures in the event of an attack by the US on Iraq.

Golez said that the national government "is basically prepared in supporting the fight against terrorism and honoring the process in the UN and is prepared to extend security, humanitarian and political support to the US."

The NSC head, however, refused to answer how the Philippine government would react in case the US unilaterally attacks Iraq, saying "this is highly hypothetical at the moment."

He said if this event happens, there will be another NSC meeting where the consequences of such a development and possible response by the Philippine government would be discussed.

According to Golez, today’s meeting of the NSC provided an overview of the security situation in Iraq and an assessment by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the UN Security Council action in light of the US congressional authority for the US to use force in Iraq.

Ambassador Roy Cimatu, head of the Middle East Preparedness Team (MEPT), briefed the NSC on the situation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East.

Cimatu, who just returned from a visit to several countries in the Middle East, presented which countries are considered to be relatively risky and countries less risky where OFWs could stay put in case the US attacks Iraq.

Energy Secretary Vincent Perez also made a presentation on the conservation and stockpiling of oil in the event that the situation in the Middle East worsens.

In the NSC meeting, Director General Hermogenes Ebdane, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), reported about the measures undertaken by the PNP to secure vital installations and other possible targets of international terrorism.

Among those who attended the NSC meeting were former President Fidel Ramos, former President Corazon Aquino, Senate President Franklin Drilon, Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr.; Senators Ramon Magsaysay, Jr., Loren Legarda, Manuel Villar, Juan Flavier and Tito Sotto; and Congressmen Neptali Gonzales, Jr., Raul Gonzales, Agapito "Butz" Aquino, Gerry Salapuddin, Apolinario Lozada and Prospero Pichay.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today directed the Department of Health (DOH) to send a Filipino medical team to Bali, Indonesia as part of the Philippines’ humanitarian gesture to a friend-country now in grief and needing assistance.

The President made the announcement during the National Security Council (NSC) meeting this morning to assess the situation after the terrorist bombing attack in Bali on Saturday night and the overall security situation in the Middle East.

Press Secretary and Acting Presidential Spokesman Ignacio "Toting" Bunye said the assistance is being given by the Philippines "as our humanitarian gesture to a friend who is now in need." Indonesia, like the Philippines, is a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which groups them together with Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.

"As to size of the medical team and when the medical team would be leaving (the country), we leave that to the DOH," Bunye said.

The resort island of Bali was the scene of what Indonesian officials described as the worst act of terror in the country’s history, where more than 400 people were killed and wounded in a bombing attack.

With regards on the bomb explosion near the Philippine Consulate in Manado, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said Philippine authorities they are still awaiting the results of the investigation being conducted by Indonesian authorities before making any comment.

The National Security Council today adopted the "selective and voluntary" relocation plan presented by former AFP Chief retired Gen. Roy Cimatu, head of the Middle East Preparedness Team (MEPT), to be the guiding principle in the government’s contingency plan in case of war in Iraq.

Cimatu recommended, however, that the Filipinos in Iraq, all 106 of them, should be evacuated in advance, meaning they will be moved out of Iraq before the start of the hostilities.

In a press briefing after the NSC meeting in Malacaņang, National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said that Filipinos in other parts of the Middle East who wish to be relocated to safer grounds may do so voluntarily.

"In which case our concern will be to help in their travel requirements by way of assistance in the provision of exit visas, transportation and safety in transit," Golez explained.

Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who will opt to stay will be advised of their situation, and, in cooperation with their employers and the host governments, they will be given all the necessary assistance to ensure their welfare, before, during and after the conflict, Golez added.

In the case of Kuwait, it will be basically "stay put" with some voluntary relocation in the areas that are very close to the Iraq border, Cimatu said.

The approved course of action for OFWs in other Middle East countries such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon and Syria is for them to remain in their areas of employment.

Government representatives led by Foreign Secretary Blas Ople are visiting the capitals of the European Union to seek the declaration of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) and its front groups, as a terrorist organization and thereby undeserving of any political or material support or sanctuary.

Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye, in his regular briefing, said Ople will be joined by Presidential Adviser on Special Concerns Norberto Gonzales, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Eduardo Ermita, and Presidential Management Staff Head Silvestre Afable Jr. who is in charge of back-channel negotiations.

"It’s clear to them that they’re there to conduct diplomatic initiative to, of course, end the current hostilities and withdraw support from the CPP-NPA and, hopefully, force them to the negotiating table as early as possible," Bunye said.

According to a Palace statement, the GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) mission is based on the principle that terrorism is a universal threat that must be countered and contained by the collective action from all democratic and freedom-loving nations.

The statement added that such collective action is considered one of the effective means by which terrorist groups, if these have not yet reached the point of absolute incorrigibility, to embrace peaceful and democratic struggle to attain their political ends.

"There is no doubt that the CPP-NPA and its front groups comprise a terrorist organization. It operates clandestine cells engaged in planning and executing terrorist activities. It strives to achieve political power by force. Its actions are directed at fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures," the statement said.

The statement said further: "Jose Ma. Sison has command and control of the CPP-NPA from within Europe. He issues orders in the conduct of terrorist actions under his true name and under the aliases Amado Guerrero and Armando Liwanag. Many of his pronouncements and interviews have been projected globally."

The government has ample documentary and testimonial proof of terrorist acts perpetrated by the CPP-NPA and the NDF over the past 30 years, all designed to overthrow the duly-constituted government and the democratic system, the statement added.

"These include the assassination of local political leaders and representatives of Congress, the violation of electoral processes through intimidation of candidates and ballot box snatching and the mass killing of revolutionary cadres suspected of turning their backs on the underground movement," the statement said.

It went on:

"The CPP-NPA and the NDF has also been involved in kidnapping, extortion, bank robbery, arson, the destruction of public transport facilities and attacks on commercial establishments.

"They have recruited minors for combat and planted land mines that have harmed civilians.

"The GRP is one with the international community in proscribing the use of violence and terrorism, whether to attain political or plain criminal ends, whether done by communists or other ideologically oriented groups. Europe is one of the centers of civilization where the communist movement has fully entered the mainstream of democratic discourse.

"This in the model the GRP envisions in the conduct of its peace processes.

"The GRP maintains open, informal lines of communication with the CPP-NPA-NDF. This is not inconsistent with its position that the revolutionary movement is a terrorist organization. For even in the face of the most brazen acts perpetrated by the movement, the GRP cannot totally close its eyes to the search of a peaceful solution of an ideologically-based conflict involving the Filipino people themselves – in the hope of ending the employment of violence and terrorism as a means to attain political ends, and to achieve national unity and reconciliation under the Constitution.

Malacaņang today formally announced the appointment of former Commission on Elections Chairman Alfredo Benipayo as the new Solicitor General, replacing Simeon Marcelo who is the new Ombudsman.

Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye, in his regular press briefing, said Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Avelino Cruz has transmitted Benipayo’s appointment papers to Justice Secretary Hernando Perez.

The appointment papers, signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, were dated October 11, Bunye noted.

Bunye said the selection of Benipayo was based on the recommendations of a search committee.

Before he was Comelec chairman, Benipayo was Supreme Court administrator.

Benipayo was a regional trial court judge in Manila from 1983 to 1987 and later associate justice of the Court of Appeals for nine years.

He started serving in the judiciary in 1974 as district judge and vice executive judge of the Court of First Instance in Malolos, Bulacan.

In 1976, he became district judge of the CFI in Manila.

He was also an associate professor in the Faculty of Civil Law at the University of Santo Tomas.

The Philippines will soon be offering to host an international conference on anti-terrorism, recognizing the fact there may be some threats to the Southeast Asian region by international terrorist organizations.

In a press briefing in Malacaņang after a meeting of the National Security Council, National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said the conference will be participated in not only by countries in Asia but also by the United States and possibly Australia.

Golez pointed out that one possible agenda for discussion during the conference will be on how to combine effort in the fight against terrorism.

The conference will recognize the fact that the fight against terrorism is not a fight by a single country but the collective effort of all the countries threatened by international terrorism, Golez said.

Former President Fidel V. Ramos, who is a member of the National Security Council, suggested the holding of the international conference on terrorism.

The conference will be favorable to Indonesia and the United States in light of the recent Bali bombing and the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

The National Security Council (NSC), in its meeting this morning presided over by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, has adopted contingency measures against terrorism in the wake of the terrorist bombing in Bali, Indonesia that killed almost 200 foreign tourists and local residents.

In a press briefing in Malacanang after the NSC meeting, National Security Adviser J. Roilo Golez said the three-pronged contingency plan was presented by Director General Hermogenes Ebdane, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Golez said that the first component of the contingency plan is intelligence gathering or the ability of government security agencies to predict any terrorist act.

He said that on the recommendation of Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr., who was among those who attended the NSC meeting, there is a need to augment the intelligence budget of the PNP, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) so that they can effectively respond to terrorist threats.

The second component, according to Golez, is "target hardening," which means providing physical security to particular targets, and this would involve not just personnel provided by the PNP and the AFP but also by in-house security of possible targets of terrorist attacks.

The third, Golez said, is incident management, which is going to be handled at the local government level with the support of national agencies in the event that there is an actual terrorist attack.

He said that the barangays would also be utilized in the actual handling of any terrorist attack.

"This has been the policy already of the government in the aspect of prediction of any terrorist threat as well as protection of some possible targets and, of course, even in incident management," Golez said.

The NSC meeting was attended by former President Fidel Ramos and former President Corazon Aquino, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives led by Senate President Franklin Drilon and Speaker de Venecia, Jr. and top Cabinet members.

Energy Secretary Vicente Perez today assured the Filipino people that the supply of oil and oil products in the Philippines is adequate and that the possibility of a shortage is "negligible."

The assurance was given by Perez to the National Security Council (NSC) during its meeting this morning in Malacaņang.

Later in a press briefing in Malacaņang, Perez said the Department of Energy (DoE) has been closely monitoring the inventory levels of oil and refined products in the country in the wake of renewed threats to peace in the Middle East.

According to Perez, the supply level of oil and refined products this week is good for 62 days, which "is sufficient to see the country through any of the foreseeable scenario in the case of military conflict in Iraq."

Perez also emphasized that during the last 30 years, there has not been any incidence of serious interruption to the world’s oil supply even during the Gulf War of 1991.

He explained that the Philippines imports its refined diesel and gasoline products from 15 different countries, and only three of these countries are in the Middle East. "The rest are mainly in the Asia-Pacific region," Perez added.

Perez said that the major local downstream oil industry players have continuously assured the government that they have arrangements in place to ensure a steady and sufficient supply of oil in case of a military conflict in the Middle East.

He said that the DOE will continue to pursue arrangements with oil suppliers for alternative deliveries of products "that would provide us with uninterrupted supply in the unlikely event that these contingencies would be needed."

On oil conservation efforts, Perez said that starting next week, the DOE will be disseminating gas-saving tips to motorists through the media and gasoline stations all over the country.

The National Security Council today said that there is a need a national identification (ID) system, with the Social Security System (SSS) as the basis, as part of the government’s precautionary measures against terrorism.

"One very important aspect in the fight against terrorism is identification, to be able to identify people so that they will not come up with multiple personalities or multiple identification, considering that many IDs are very easy to produce," National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said in a briefing in Malacaņang after the NSC meeting.

Golez said the ID system is a must "if we are to fight international terrorism in light of the recent bombings in Mindanao and the latest carnage in Bali, Indonesia."

Also during the briefing, Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said the proposal to adopt a national ID system came from Senator Ramon Magsaysay, Jr. and was endorsed unanimously by the National Security Council.

Bunye said that during the NSC meeting, Senate President Franklin Drilon gave valuable inputs on how to package the ID system so that it could be acceptable to the public.

Drilon said the information that would be needed for the ID system would be the same information contained in the SSS card. "This is public information anyway," he said.

Golez also explained that the ID system idea would not be intrusive. "It would not invade people’s privacy," he added.