GMA, Ople meet tomorrow on DFA

Opposition Sen. Blas Ople will meet tomorrow with President Arroyo on her offer for him to be the next secretary of foreign affairs.

"I will meet with her on Wednesday and this matter will come up in our talks," Ople told reporters after the President’s State of the Nation Address at the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City.

Asked if he would accept the offer, the veteran lawmaker said he and Mrs. Arroyo both have "complete freedom of actions."

Over lunch with a small group of newspaper editors and reporters before the weekend, the President had confirmed that as early as December last year she had sounded out Ople if he could be her next foreign affairs secretary.

"At that time, we already had differences with (Vice President) Tito Guingona on foreign policy issues," she said.

The President said she discussed with Ople such issues and she found out that the two of them have congruent views.

Mrs. Arroyo and Guingona had differed sharply on the issue on the presence here of American troops.

Rep. Willie Villarama (Aksyon Demokratiko, Bulacan), Ople’s former chief of staff, said his former boss is highly qualified for the position of foreign affairs secretary.

"I think he will accept the President’s offer," he said.

Political leaders from Bulacan, Ople’s hometown, have asked him to accept the position. Ople is the Senate’s expert on foreign policy relations.

In another development, the President, who is acting foreign affairs chief, will hold a teleconference with 12 Philippine ambassadors to follow up on the country’s foreign policy issues.

The ambassadors involved the teleconference will be Domingo Siazon Jr., Tokyo; Josue Villa, Beijing; Willy Gaa, Canberra; Rafael Seguis, Jakarta; Ernesto Llamas Jr., Singapore; Clemencio Montessa, Brussels; Joseph Bernardo, Madrid; Hector Villanueva, Paris; Albert del Rosario, Washington; Justo Orros, Mexico; Bahnarim Guinomla, Riyadh; and Samuel Ramel (United Nations Mission), New York, and Edsel Custodio (World Trade Organization), Geneva.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said Mrs. Arroyo will discuss the conditions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the proposed absentee voting measure, Philippine market access, trade and tourism, global terrorism and security, developments in the Organization of Islamic Conference, the Asia-Europe meeting and the forthcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Spain.

Mrs. Arroyo will particularly ask the ambassadors to Washington, Riyadh and Singapore on the absentee voting for inputs since they host many OFWs, Washington also over the deportation of Filipinos and Riyadh on the execution of Filipino crime convicts and the general welfare of OFWs in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The President will also discuss the travel advisory and trade strategy of Beijing and Tokyo and the safety of Philippine posts in Jakarta amid terrorist threats from Islamic militants. — With Aurea Calica