The National Organizing Committee of the 40^th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting confirmed on Wednesday that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would not be attending the Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) and the ASEAN Regional Forum scheduled in Manila on Aug. 1 and 2, respectively.

In a press briefing at the International Media Center at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), NOC Secretary General Marciano Paynor, Jr. said that Deputy US Secretary of State John Negroponte would instead head the US delegation to the Manila meetings.

He said that Negroponte, being a former ambassador to Manila, is an old friend of the Philippines and an "equal replacement to the actual principal."

Squelching speculations that the non-attendance of Rice is an indication that the US is not giving much importance to the ASEAN meetings, Paynor said that the "level of participation of each delegation and country is really dependent on the availability of the highest official at that level."

"This is something which is the prerogative of the delegation," Paynor added.

The PMC, which will be attended by the ASEAN foreign ministers and their counterparts from the dialogue partners, will follow immediately after the 40^th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), which is scheduled from July 29 to 31.

Earlier, US Embassy Spokesman Matthew Lussenhop said that Rice is not attending the Manila meetings because of "conflict of schedule." He did not elaborate but wire reports said that Rice was scheduled to resume her diplomatic initiatives in the Middle East on the dates that coincide with the meetings in Manila.

Before his appointment as US Deputy Secretary of State, Negroponte has served in the United States Foreign Service for more than three decades, or from 1960 to 1997.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered today the filing of cases against police personnel who do not protect the anonymity of drugs whistleblowers

The President issued the order during her visit this morning to District I in Quezon City where she presided over an hour-long meeting of community officials from three barangays where she found out that a number of the youth are hooked either on rugby or shabu.

President Arroyo advised the barangay officials of Barangays Manresa, Masambong and Balingasa to submit names of suspected drug dealers and users to the police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

But Barangay Chairman Erlinda Madrilejo of Balingasa complained to the President that she did just that three-four years ago in all confidentiality – or so she thought. Before she knew it, she said that the suspects themselves already had a copy of the supposed confidential list that she had submitted to Police Station I, copy-furnished to the suspected drugsters themselves by the police officer-in-charge himself.

"Isinumbong pa po ako, kaya ngayon, takot na ako!" Madrilejo complained. And so instead of solving the problem of drug-dealing and drug-use in her barangay, Chairman Madrilejo said she found herself on the defensive from residents knocking on her door, complaining and threatening her about the list.

"Dapat kasuhan yung pulis na nagpakita nun (the list)," the President ordered.

In the barangay dialogue were police officials in the area, and the PDEA head, retired Gen. Dionisio Santiago, who stressed that the policemen present in the meeting were not the ones assigned to the district during the time mentioned.

The President also advised city and barangay officials to report drugs cases direct to the PDEA, even as she ordered the PDEA to be more upbeat in going after drugsters, even in the barangay level.

For himself, Santiago revealed that the PDEA only has 104 operatives, and called on barangay officials to supply them the names and "huhulihin namin."

Santiago also reported that he will enhance the PDEA’s inter-agency cooperation, even as he revealed that he will be coordinating with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for the funding of more operatives.

"That is your responsibility," the President told Santiago.

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte, who was also in the joint dialogue, pointed out that every barangay actually knows the identity of drug sources and users.

On the other hand, Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista, who heads the city’s anti-drugs task force, committed to the President to henceforth copy-furnish the PDEA with all drugs reports that he will be receiving from the barangays whose leaders he asked to just text him about drugs info, and "titirahin natin."

Meanwhile, Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Esperanza Cabral said the DSWD National Capital Region office could fetch from the barangays the identified drug-addicted youth who could be brought to the department’s drug-rehab haven in Bicutan, Taguig City.

ZAMBOANGA CITY – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will preside over the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) top level military command conference here tomorrow to assess the peace and order situation in the western and eastern parts of Mindanao.

It is expected that upon her arrival here, the President will meet the top AFP officials of Western and Eastern Mindanao Command at the conference room of the Mansion House in Camp General Navarro.

She is also expected to visit and check the health conditions of the Marine soldiers wounded-in-action in an encounter with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) renegade troops in Tipo-Tipo and Patikul, both in Basilan, in Camp General Navarro Hospital, where they are now confined and recuperating.

As of this afternoon, the AFP was still awaiting for the warrant of arrest against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) renegade members who ambushed and killed 14 Marine soldiers in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan recently.

After the command conference, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon will update local and national media men on military preparations in going after the killers of the 14 Marine soldiers,10 of whom were beheaded and mutilated.

The President is also scheduled to inspect important government infrastructure projects here, including the asphalt overlay project at the runway of Zamboanga City International Airport.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said today that one of the outputs of the five-day 40^th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), which will open at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on July 29, will be the final draft of the ASEAN Charter.

In a press briefing at the International Media Center at the PICC, Romulo said that a High Level Task Force (HLTF) is now putting the finishing touches to the draft of the ASEAN Charter.

He said that the final draft will be submitted for approval by ASEAN leaders during the 13^th ASEAN Summit in Singapore in November this year.

It will be recalled that the ASEAN Leaders signed the Cebu Declaration on the Blueprint of the ASEAN Charter at the 12^th ASEAN Summit in Cebu in January 2007 where they endorsed the Report of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) and directed a HLTF to draft the Charter.

The ASEAN Charter aims to transform ASEAN into a rules-based intergovernmental organization, set a legal framework for ASEAN to restructure its existing mechanisms and improve its decision-making process to ensure the effective implementation of ASEAN agreements and decisions.

The Philippines’ representative to the EPG is former President Fidel V. Ramos while Special Envoy and Former Ambassador Rosario Manalo represents the Philippines and is the current chairperson of the HLTF.

The HLTF adopted the following guidelines on the drafting of the Charter:

The komiks community announced today that it is re-establishing the komiks industry by Sept. 4 this year as it paid tribute to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for being the "first and only sitting president to have recognized komiks artists."

During that date, five new komiks novels shall be released to the reading public after 20-year hiatus.

Last February, the National Arts Month, President Arroyo awarded five komiks greats with the Presidential Medal of Merit (PMM), dubbing them the "legends of Philippine Komiks."

Awarded were Antonio Velasquez, author of the comic series "Mga Kabalbalan ni Kenkoy," and considered the father of Filipino komiks; Francisco Coching, pioneer of "Katha at Guhit sa Komiks" and creator of "Pedro Penduko" and "Condenado," Mars Ravelo, creator of "Darna" and "Dyesebel" and "Captain Barbell," Larry Alcala, creator of "Asiong Aksaya" and "Kalabog en Bosyo," and Carlo Caparas, creator of "Ang Panday."

Of the five, the first four were awarded posthumously, making Caparas – whose five new novel titles were unveiled today -- the only living komiks great.

President Arroyo was welcomed to the unveiling ceremonies by Commissioner Jose Lad Santos of the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino who related how the Presidential awards last Feb. 28 revitalized the then "matamlay" and already 87-year-old komiks industry.

"For the first time in its 87 years of history, the komiks world was invited to Malacaņang for the unprecedented awards where we were even feted to a luncheon," enthused Santos in Filipino during the ceremonies held at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) in Intramuros, Manila.

"Sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon, may pangulong nagpahalaga sa mga komiks artists," added Santos who revealed that the Komiks Caravan that was later mounted by the grateful artists to revive the komiks industry found out from the people themselves that "natuto sila sa wikang Filipino dahil sa komiks."

The komiks had its glory days in the 1960’s to the 1970’s, with some 300,000 to 500,000 copies per comics title sold everyday, until the business waned in the mid-80’s.

Movie producer Donna Villa, who turned komiks novels into movies, said of President Arroyo: "Mabuhay ang godmother ng komiks… Thank you, Ma’am, for your love for komiks…"

For his part, komiks novelist Caparas thanked the President for waking up the industry which has been "nahihimlay ng dalawangpung taon, parang si Lazarus, bumangon na parang milagro."

Caparas recalled how the "kwentistas" were allowed into Malacanang grounds in their "rubber shoes, naka-maong, pinatuloy sa unang pagkakataon, sumayad ang paa sa Malacaņang…"

Caparas credited the President with giving "pag-asa sa isang matamlay na industriya" by giving out the medals which again awoke the komiks industry "at muling nagkaroon ng hininga…"

Caparas then asked the audience to give the President a long and resounding round of applause – "na mas malakas pa sa mga palakpak noong SONA (State of the Nation Address)."

The five stories that are scheduled to hit the streets in less than two months are: "Ano Ang Lihim ng Beauty Queen?", "Hiwaga ng Kadena de Amor," "Kroko," "Andres de Saya," and "Gagambino."

Romulo admitted, however, that the issue remains to be threshed out in the High Level Task Force mandated to draft the ASEAN Charter currently meeting in Manila. The HLTF is supposed to submit the final draft of the ASEAN Charter to the regional grouping’s senior ministers when the 40^th AMM meets on Monday.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said today that the Philippines will honor its One-China policy amidst fresh moves by Taiwan to become a member of the United Nations.

In a press briefing at the International Media Center at the Philippine International Convention Center, Romulo said that the One-China policy is the rationale behind the recent action by the UN to reject Taiwan’s application for membership.

"Taiwan is part of China. Therefore, there is no need for Taiwan to apply for membership in the UN," Romulo said.

The general position of the international community is that there is only one China, that Taiwan is an integral part of China, and that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing all of China.

Such a stance is in accord with the UN Charter and has been affirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758.

Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said Taiwan’s attempt to join the UN will not succeed.

"We resolutely oppose it and will keep a close eye on the development of the issue," Liu said. "The Taiwan authorities' attempt to split China will not succeed."

Following is the full text of the opening statement of Foreign Affairs Secretary Dr. Alberto Romulo in his press conference held this afternoon at the International Media Center of the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in connection with the 40^th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting that will open on July 29:

"Good afternoon and thank you for joining us today.

"As you can see, preparations are going well for the Manila ASEAN Ministerial Meetings.

"I understand that you have been briefed on the administrative preparations by Ambassador Jun Paynor and his team.

"I also understand that the Substantive Team, led by Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio and Assistant Secretary Louie Cruz had kept you up to date on the substance and content of our coming meetings.

"By now you must all be well aware of the various meetings we will be having, the issues we will be discussing and the documents we will be signing, adopting or noting.

"As for me, I will chair 11 meetings and deliver interventions in two other meetings.

"As I believe that the media should be vigorously engaged in our work, I will have four press conferences, as has been previously announced.

"On top of this, I will issue timely and relevant press releases on a daily or even twice daily basis. I have also instructed our media team to meet with you everyday to brief you on developments.

"We will be gathering in Manila for the ASEAN Ministerial Meetings almost forty years to the day ASEAN was born.

"We will meet at a time when the nations of our region are intensifying their efforts to build a caring and sharing community.

"We assemble here in Manila, with the confidence that together we will shape our own future, committed to facing our collective challenges and determined to overcome our common problems.