We will run after those who killed our Marines but we will not run away from the peace talks.

Our desire to see the killers punished is matched only by our determination to forge peace.

A total of 27 countries will be represented at the 40^th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), the Post Ministerial Conferences (PMCs), and the 14^th ASEAN Regular Forum (ARF) to be held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City from July 29 to Aug. 2, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

DFA Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs Luis Cruz said that the ASEAN foreign ministers are expected to discuss the status of ASEAN’s community building efforts and assess the progress of the implementation of the three pillars of ASEAN--on security community, economic community, and socio-cultural community.

The 40^th AMM, Cruz said, will also adopt measures that would implement the landmark decisions of the 12^th ASEAN, the 2^nd East Asia Summit and other related summits that were held under the chairmanship of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Cebu on Jan. 12-15, 2007.

The Philippines, as current chairman of the ASEAN Standing Committee, is expected to lead in the discussions of the measures to follow up on the directives of the ASEAN leaders firmed up at the Cebu Summit.

The AMM is an annual meeting of the ASEAN foreign ministers held every July of each year and hosted on a rotational basis by ASEAN member countries in alphabetical order, following the rotation of the ASEAN chairmanship.

The 10 ASEAN members are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The PMCs, on the other hand, are annual meetings between ASEAN foreign ministers and their counterparts from 10 dialogue partners -- China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India, Russia, Canada, the United States, and the European Union.

According to Cruz, at the PMCs in Manila, scheduled on Aug. 1, the ASEAN foreign ministers will meet with their counterparts from Australia, Canada, the European Union, New Zealand, Russia and the US. The meetings with the foreign ministers of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea took place at the sidelines of the Cebu Summit.

The 14^th ARF is the only forum in the Asia-Pacific whose aim is to discuss regional and international security issues. Scheduled on Aug. 2, the ARF will bring together foreign ministers of ASEAN, their counterparts from the 10 dialogue partners and from other countries in the region that include Bangladesh, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste.

Cruz said that for the first time, Sri Lanka will be represented in the 14^th ARF, bringing the total number of ARF participating countries to 27.

While stressing her administration’s determination to pursue the peace process to attain permanent peace in Mindanao, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today the government will not allow groups or people committing "barbaric acts to hide under the negotiating table."

In a statement, the President reiterated that the people responsible for the brutal killing of the 14 Marines in Basilan last Tuesday must be brought to justice.

"We will run after those who killed our Marines but we will not run away from the peace talks," the President said, adding that "Our desire to see the killers punished is matched only by our determination to forge peace."

The Marines were ambushed in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan as they were verifying reports that the abducted Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi was being held in the area.

The President had earlier ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) "to hunt down and arrest those who have treacherously killed" the soldiers, 10 of whom were beheaded.

The military said the attack was perpetrated by a joint force of Islamic militants from the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf Group.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led the nation today in giving a hero’s welcome for the 14 enlisted personnel of the Philippine Marines 1^st Marine Brigade who were killed in an ambush by hundreds of rebel renegades from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and lawless elements in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan last Tuesday (July 10).

Ten of the slain soldiers were beheaded, with some parts of their bodies mutilated.

Joining the President during the solemn welcome rites held at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City were Vice President Noli de Castro, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, National Security Adviser and acting Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales, Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., Philippine Air Force PAF) Chief Lt. Gen. Horacio Tolentino and Philippine Marine Corps Commandant Maj. Gen. Nelson Allaga.

The marine soldiers killed in action were: Staff Sergeants Noel F. Bautista and Bernard C. Abes; Sergeants Rey B. Callueng, Gerardo B. Licup, and Cayetano N. Simbajon; Private First Class officers Russel S. Panaga, Freddie G. Palma, Elizar S. Semeniano, Reuben S. Doronio Jr., Jhonard Alianza, Arjorin S. Eleazar, Emmanuel G. Beup, Emilio C. Lachica and Wilfredo G. Lamban.

Standing at the foot of the plane’s rear ramp, the President executed a hand salute each time the Philippine flag-draped caskets of the slain soldiers were unloaded from the plane by the pallbearer soldiers and placed them at the Tarmac fronting the VAB Base Operations building.

The President also witnessed the consecutive blessings of the soldiers’ remains conducted by Philippine Navy Chief Chaplain Col. Rosalindo Acasio and Philippine Marines Corps Chaplain Carlito Buslon.

During the program, the President conferred an on-the-spot promotion (posthumously to their next higher rank) on the 14 marine soldiers.

Meanwhile, Philippine Marines spokesman Ariel Caculitan said the relatives of the slain soldiers will receive the following: P100,000 financial assistance from the President; P15,000 burial assistance from the Philippine Navy; P50,000 in checks from Philippine Marines Mutual Special Financial Assistance; six months’ basic pay in cash benefits, scholarships from the Marines Educational Benefits System Office, lifetime pensions for the wife and parents (for the single soldier), and P5,000 financial assistance from the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office.

On the legal aspect, Caculitan said that aside from multiple murder case to be filed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against the suspected ambushers at the lower court, it would also file a complaint before the Commission on Human Rights.

AFP spokesman Col. Bartolome Bacarro said the AFP is now preparing a protest complaint before the Committee on Ceasefire and the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) against the MILF 114^th Western Mindanao Front headed by commander Suhud Limaya alias Hud for violating the ceasefire agreement between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and MILF peace panel.