LOS CABOS, Mexico – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo joined other leaders from the Asia-Pacific region in issuing a united message on how to stop cross-border terrorists without slowing trade.

The leaders of the 21 member-economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum condemned in the strongest terms the recent terrorist acts in the APEC region – including the Philippines, Indonesia and the Russian Federation – and reaffirmed determination to enhance cooperation in countering and responding to terrorism.

(The Philippines has been the target of terrorist bombers. The Indonesian resort island of Bali was the recent scene of that Asian country’s worst terrorist bomb attack. A theater in Moscow was the stage for a bloody siege by Chechen guerrillas who held hundreds of people hostage.)

The leaders of APEC, created in 1989 mainly to promote free trade among economies in the Pacific Rim, also issued a blueprint on conducting more efficient trade and on making physical borders safer.

The Philippine President herself has stressed the need to extend the coalition against terrorism into a coalition in economic relations to boost trade and foster prosperity in the region.

She said tackling terrorism would be no easy task: "That Bali attack and the other attacks in October remind us that this war will be long, difficult and borderless."

The President also called for a level playing field in trade and, along with the other leaders of the developing countries, criticized agricultural subsidies and trade barriers in the developed countries that hindered the poorer nations’ exports.

The APEC declaration at the end of the two-day summit here thus also endorsed the elimination of agricultural export subsidies and called for the conclusion of global trade talks by 2005.

The Philippines and Australia have agreed to cooperate in fighting global terrorism, according to Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye.

In a radio interview from Los Cabos, Mexico where he is a member of the official delegation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Bunye said that it was Australian Prime Minister John Howard who broached the idea of intelligence sharing between the Philippines and Australia as one of the measures in fighting terrorism in the region.

The President and Howard met Sunday on the sidelines of the opening day of the 10^th Economic Leaders’ Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) hosted by the Mexican government.

According to Bunye, Howard proposed that the two countries sign a bilateral agreement on sharing of intelligence information.

In a statement, the leaders of the 21 member-economies of the Pacific Rim adopted several security measures as it condemned the recent terrorist attacks in Bali, Indonesia and in Moscow

The APEC leaders also highly praised the firm and swift efforts made by the governments of Indonesia, the Philippines and the Russian Federation to arrest suspects in recent terror attacks in their respective countries.

Although Australia has not been hit by terror attacks, some 100 of the victims of the bombing in a nightclub in Bali were Australian vacationers.

United States Secretary of State Colin Powell has expressed the deep appreciation of the Bush administration for the efforts of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to support the US in the global campaign against terrorism.

In a brief meeting with Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople in the sidelines of the APEC Ministerial Meeting held here on Friday. Powell also expressed his condolences to the victims of terrorist attacks in the Southern Philippines.

Ople and Powell also agreed the bilateral relations between the two countries remain strong and Powell said he was particularly pleased with the military to military cooperation between the United States and the Philippines.

The two officials agreed to support current APEC initiatives to promote trade security and fight terrorism.

Among these initiatives is the so-called "Star Initiative" (Secure Trade in APEC Region Initiative) proposed by the United States which was unanimously approved by APEC members.

STAR comprises a set of specific actions aimed at making the flow goods and people more secure and efficient with the help of advanced technology and improved monitoring procedures. APEC represents 60 percent of the world’s GDP and half of its trade. Most of the world’s top megaports are in APEC economies, as are most of the world’s busiest airports.

More advanced economies – including the US, Japan, Canada, Australia -- have agreed to help developing economies with capacity building assistance to enable them to achieve the goals specified under the STAR initiative. APEC members will cooperate to promote the implementation of these measures.

Included among the specific actions under the STAR initiative were:

• Improving airline passengers and crew safety by introducing highly effective baggage screening procedures and equipment in all APEC international airports as soon as possible. And in any case by 2005;

• Enhancing air cargo security by promoting adoption of the guidelines developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA);

• Adopting standards of application of biometrics in travel procedures and documents such as those being developed by the ICAO and the International Standards Organization;

• Implementing expeditiously a container security regime that would assure in-transit integrity of containers, identify and examine high-risk containers, and support international efforts to provide advanced information on containers to customs, port, and shipping officials as early as possible in the supply chain while taking into consideration the promotion and facilitation of legitimate trade.

These and other measures were aimed at protecting cargo, ships in international voyages, international aviation and people in transit.

The United States also welcomed the moves of the Arroyo administration to host a high-level APEC meeting on maritime security next year to ensure that the movement of goods and people carried out through traditional maritime routes remain unimpeded.

The high-level maritime security conference seeks to map out new strategies and fresh approaches to enhancing maritime security in the region, especially in the face of lingering terrorist threats. The result of the conference will complement ongoing efforts to secure trade under the STAR initiative.

LOS CABOS, Mexico – The leaders of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum today commended the determination by the governments of the Philippines, Indonesia and the Russian Federation to bring terrorists to justice.

In one of two statements issued at the end of their two-day summit meeting here, the leaders of the APEC also condemned the recent terrorist attacks in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in the Philippines, Indonesia and the Russian Federation.

The APEC leaders also expressed deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims of these attacks and their families and to the peoples of these APEC member-economies.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said in her speech at the breakfast plenary meeting dubbed "A Conversation with Leaders" that tackling terrorism would be no easy task.

"That (Bali) attack and the other attacks in October remind us that this war on terrorism will be long, difficult and borderless," she said.

The President threw her support behind the international fight against terrorism but said efforts to ease poverty were also crucial to build security.

"If we neglect the economic imperative at this time when we are so concerned with terrorism, we would be feeding terrorism by promoting hunger, disease and ignorance," she told the meeting in this luxury Mexican beach resort.

LOS CABOS, Mexico – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the other leaders attending the 10^th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting here wore costumes deeply rooted in Mexican tradition during the meeting’s official photo session.

The President wore a "huipiles," the most traditional form of women’s clothing in Mexico, which has been use sinced pre-Colombian times.

It consists of a swath of cloth, doubled over with an opening for the head.

Huipiles are still woven on handlooms, guaranteeing that each is an individual work of art.

The patterns woven into the cloth date back before the conquest and represent sacred beings and animals that protect the crops, fertility and harmony with the earth and, finally, the Mayan vision of the cosmos.

The huipil that the President and the other women leaders wore was hand-made by members of the indigenous cooperative SNA Jolobil in the Chiapas highlands.

Mexican President Vicente Fox and the other male leaders wore Mexico’s traditional white "guayabera."

The guayabera, which originated from the Caribbean, arrived in Mexico during the colonial era. They were created by a pottery maker named Joselillo.

According to tradition, one day Joselillo received a bundle of cloth from his family back in Spain.

He asked his wife to use the cloth to make comfortable and cool shirts that he could wear.

The shirts were so admired that the style soon caught on with farmers throughout the region.

They later added pockets to the shirt to where they can put their belongings and tobacco.

LOS CABOS, Mexico – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the other APEC economic leaders today endorsed the APEC Trade Facilitation Action Plan which will implement their commitment to cut transaction costs by five percent in the APEC region by the year 2006.

In the declaration issued at the end of the APEC Leaders Retreat at Ventanas Al Paraiso Hotel here, the leaders recognized the significant economic and trade benefits which can accrue from trade facilitation and took special note of the action plan’s call for providing appropriate capacity building assistance to developing economies.

The leaders directed their ministers to continue moving forward with the selection and implementation of trade facilitating actions and measures and to assess the benefits of associated transaction cost reductions.

The leaders have adopted the Statement to Implement APEC Transparency Standards, and directed that these standards be implemented as soon as possible, and in no case later than January 2005.

The leaders likewise endorsed Pathfinder initiatives on advance passenger information systems, the revised Kyoto Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedure, electronic SPS certification (e-cert), Electronic certificates of origin, mutual recognition arrangement of conformity assessment on electrical and electronic equipment Parts II and III, and corporate governance.

The statement to implement the APEC policies on trade and the digital economy, which contains a set of targets related to trade policies for the new economy, also a pathfinder initiative, was also adopted.

The leaders praised the strengthened peer review process of the individual action plans for monitoring process to achieve the Bogor goals.

LOS CABOS, Mexico (via PLDT) – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the other leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum agreed today on the need to crush terrorism, which poses a profound threat to their vision of free, open and prosperous economies.

In the APEC Economic Leaders’ Declaration, the heads of the 21 member-economies of the Pacific Rim discussed the challenge posed to the region’s security and prosperity by terrorist organizations, noting the need to strengthen security while maintaining the smooth flow of goods, capital and people that has been key to the region’s economic growth.

"We welcomed the efforts of member-economies in APEC for a response to the 2001 Leaders’ Statement on Counter-terrorism," the APEC leaders said.

The Leaders’ Declaration, which was read by Mexican President Vicente Fox after the final "Leaders’ Retreat" at the Las Ventanas al Paraiso Hotel here, condemned in the strongest terms recent terrorist acts in the APEC region, and reaffirmed the leaders’ determination to enhance cooperation on countering and responding to terrorism.

The leaders have adopted the Los Cabos Statement on Fighting Terrorism and Promoting Growth, committing to take a series of concrete steps that will protect and make more efficient the flows of trade, finance, and information.

The APEC leaders likewise called for the development of capacity-building programs to assure that all economies are able to implement all elements of the statement.

LOS CABOS, Mexico – The leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation member-economies today endorsed negotiations for the abolition of all forms of agricultural export subsidies and unjustifiable export prohibitions and restrictions which President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and other leaders of developing countries criticized as hindrances to their countries’ expansion and development.

In the APEC Economic Leaders Declaration issued Sunday (Monday in Manila), the 21 Asian-Pacific leaders agreed to implement the APEC vision of free and open trade and investments.

The APEC leaders thus called on their ministers "to continue negotiations that will open markets and enhance the multilateral trading systems, foster economic growth and poverty reduction particularly in developing economies, promote sustainable development, improve disciplines, improve WTO (World Trade Organization) coherence with other institutions, and provide opportunities for all citizens of the world."

"We discussed the fundamental contribution of trade to economic growth, and the need for APEC to strongly support the multilateral trading system, while implementing our commitment," the leaders’ declaration stated.

The leaders likewise welcomed the launch of new multilateral trade negotiations in Doha and encouraged all economies to pursue substantive negotiations in all areas of the Doha Development Agenda by the agreed timelines to ensure that the deadline of January 1, 2005 to conclude such negotiations is met.

"We call for progress across all areas in the lead-up to the 2003 WTO Fifth Ministerial Conference in Cancun," the leaders said.

The leaders have agreed that these negotiations hold the prospect of real gains for all economies, and particularly developing economies, in the area of agricultural reform, improved market access for goods and services, and clarification and improvement of trade disciplines.

SAN DIEGO, California—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today said that she will continue to work for increased benefits for Filipino World War II veterans from the American government.

In her speech at a gala dinner at the Marriott Hotel organized by the Filipino community here, the President said that during her meeting with US President George W. Bush on Sunday in Los Cabos, Mexico, she again reminded the latter of his promises to help the Filipino veterans.

"When I was with President Bush at the APEC summit yesterday, I reminded him again about our Filipino veterans," the President said.

The two leaders were among the heads of state and governments of the 21 member-economies of the Pacific Rim who attended the 10^th Economic Leaders’ Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

The President said that she had included the veterans’ benefits in the agenda of all her bilateral meetings with President Bush, especially during her official visit to Washington, D.C. last year.

She also called on the Filipino community here to support American legislators who have endorsed the bill that would expand benefits for Filipino World War II veterans.

The President lauded in particular San Diego Congressman Bob Filmer, the principal author of a bill that has been passed in the US House of Representatives for health care compensation and burial benefits for Filipino veterans to the tune of $65 million.

"And I know that you, the Filipino community, will always support those who support the Philippine cause," the President said.

The President then called on the Filipino-Americans here to pray so that the appropriations bill would pass the US Senate.

According to the President, her advocacy on behalf of the Filipino war veterans has paid off since the US Veterans Administration is providing $500,000 per year for veterans’ health care in the Philippines.

SAN DIEGO, California – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today brought to the 150,000 Filipino-Americans here the good news about what’s happening in the home country, told them how she has been waging the war against terrorism, crime and poverty, and sought their continued cooperation and help in building a strong Republic.

In a speech before the Filipino community during a gala dinner at the Mariott Hotel here after two days of talks with other world leaders in Mexico, the President vowed to remain focused on her administration’s economic policy reform agenda even as she spelled out her eight-point work program for the next six months.

"International credit rating agencies have rated us as stable when before I came in as president, they rated us negative," the President told the members of the Filipino community here.

A 5.2 percent growth rate in gross national product for the first half of this year makes the Philippines the best performing economy in Asia, she added.

"Your remittances have helped us grow higher than our neighboring countries," she said.

The President went on: the price of rice is stable at P14-P15 a kilo; about 200,000 urban poor families have acquired the right to buy the land they occupy; schools are being built where there used to be none; more than 3 million poor Filipinos now have health insurance.

Domestic terrorists, particularly the Abu Sayyaf, are on the run and the police and military forces have crushed at least five of the most notorious kidnap-for-ransom gangs, the President said.

"Even the Filipino-Chinese community, the favorite victims of those gangs, have said now ‘All is quiet on the Binondo front’," she added.

The President also spelled out an eight-point work program for the next six months which is part of the bigger medium-term Philippine development plan to win the battle against poverty within the decade. The program aims to:

• strengthen our small and medium enterprises;
• jump-start housing;
• reduce transport costs from Mindanao to Luzon;

• decongest Metro Manila;
• mark up the contribution of the PCCG contribution to the fiscal resources;
• make Makati a specific urban tourist destination;
• stimulate private investment in agriculture; and
• make the reclamation area in Roxas Boulevard a tourism complex or the new Nayong Pilipino.

"After a year and a half in the presidency, I have come to realize that to overcome such tremendous odds, we must build a strong Republic. Upon the cornerstone of a strong Republic, we have to build a structure of shared ethical values, a firm consensus to serve the common interest and a common vision of our national future," the President said.

She said "no President can build a strong Republic singlehandedly. I can do it and do it well only if I can count on the support of the more than two-million Filipino-Americans, including the 150,000 here in San Diego."

SAN DIEGO, California (Via PLDT) -- Filipino-Americans here and in the outlying cities of Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix came in full force and in their formal best to the gala dinner in honor of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the ballroom of the Marriott Hotel here.

Some 1,200 Fil-Ams came mostly in formal Filipino ternos and Barong Tagalog for Sunday's night special event.

They packed the San Diego Marriott Hotel, many of them carrying small Philippine flags, and applauded and cheered as the President, in a red business suit, entered the hotel's ballroom.

The President, together with First Gentleman Atty. Jose Miguel T. Arroyo and the Philippine delegation, had just flown in from Mexico where they attended the 10^th summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum.

Most of the Filipino-Americans were professionals, including doctors, engineers, IT (information technology) workers, accountants, teachers, military officers and World War II veterans.

Also in the audience were four congressmen who are members of the Philippine caucus in the US House of Congress: Congressmen Bob Filmer, Randy Cunningham, and Darryl Issa and Congresswoman Susan Davis.

With the President were Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye and PMS Chief Silvestre Afable, Jr.

During the program, the President was handed the key to the City of San Diego by Mayor Dick Murphy who remarked that the key can also open the office of the mayor, meaning the President can also visit San Diego anytime.

Murhpy informed the President that six percent of the city's residents are Filipino-Americans.