GLENDALE—Philippine Presidential Press Secretary Jesus Dureza reinforced his earlier statement that President Gloria Arroyo is confident that her strong advocacy for the less-developed economies in the midst of present-day financial challenges found resonance amongst world leaders.
Arroyo attended the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) in Lima, Peru last week where about 21 world leaders were present.
Dureza said that it was the President Arroyo’s strong advocacy for the poor and vulnerable that was listened to the other world leaders.
"Remember in this financial crisis now, there’s a lot of attention to this intervention and contingency fund for the big developed countries but the President said let’s not forget it will be the poor who will bear the brunt of all this," said Dureza during a press conference at Max’s Restaurant in Glendale last Nov. 25. "She has asked that attention be given in this interventions to poor areas and poor countries that may later on need some assistance. Although they are not directly hit right now, but we feel, there may be some aftershock [from the economic crisis]."
Arroyo and Dureza made a brief stopover in Los Angeles, where the President came from Colombia. Arroyo stayed in Los Angeles for "only a few hours" where she met with local Fil-Am leaders who organized the Sheraton event, which she missed last Friday, business executives of Ingram Micro Inc., and had a 30-minute meeting with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Arroyo was not able to meet with members of the Fil-Am media and instructed Dureza to stay to speak about the APEC trip on her behalf.
Dureza said that the Arroyo gained a lot from the APEC summit.
"It reinforces the formula of what she is doing in the Philippines," said Dureza. "She’s strengthening the economic base, providing assistance to the poor and vulnerable, looking at rice and food sufficiency, working on fuel sufficiency and for the financial stimulus that is needed to pump the economy especially during a time like this."
In her stopover in Colombia, Arroyo met with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe where they plan to "extend trade and tourism to both countries," according to Dureza.
During the press conference, Dureza also responded to the new impeachment hearing brought on by former House Speaker Jose De Venecia’s new book, which allegedly links the president and first gentlemen Mike Arroyo to the NBN-ZTE deal.
"We’d rather leave the issue to the House of Representatives, where it is being handled," said Dureza. "Each side has their own story to tell and let the House decide what is constitutionally mandated."
Dureza also blamed the media for misconstruing his infamous prayer where he asked that Arroyo continue her presidency after her constitutional term ends in 2010.
"I don’t want to comment further on that because it’s already behind us," he said. "The media failed to add, at the end of the prayer, ‘at another capacity’ it was in that context. She was so angry on what I did and I apologized to her but there was no intention to project some thought that she wants to stay beyond 2010. She has made it very clear all she is doing now is to prepare the country so that this so called ship of state, when she passes this on to the next president, will be a sea worthy vessel for everybody. There is no movement for her to stay beyond her constitutional term which ends 2010."
Dureza said that Arroyo gets a bad rap. He said that Arroyo is "one of the hardest working persons he had ever met."
(Published on November 29, 2008 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A10 )
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