The postponement comes amid the uncertainties brought by the threat of war in the Middle East.
Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said yesterday Mrs. Arroyo and Bush reached this agreement after they talked over the telephone Wednesday night.
US Embassy spokeswoman Karen Kelley echoed Bunye’s statement that Mrs. Arroyo and Bush agreed to postpone her state visit to the US. "We look forward to the state visit of President Arroyo later this spring in Washington," Kelley said.
"I don’t have any statement beyond what the two leaders said, as Secretary Bunye already announced," Kelley said, "but the preparations for the state visit are still ongoing."
Bunye told The STAR the President also instructed the Department of Foreign affairs (DFA) to "sound out" the host governments of Spain, Italy and Germany — where she is also scheduled to make state visits starting on March 22 — for possible postponements as well.
As in the case of the US visit, Bunye said, the President’s state visits to the three European Union nations may have to be "rescheduled" again should war erupt in the Middle East before then.
Bunye said Tuesday that Ambassador to tWashington Alberto del Rosario informed the President that the US government would not take it against them if her visit is postponed.
In an official statement released by the Palace yesterday, Bunye said the deferment was agreed upon by both Mrs. Arroyo and Bush "for very practical considerations."
"Both leaders will have added responsibilities should hostilities occur and they need to bring to bear the full weight of their attention on these matters," Bunye said.
"President Arroyo will need to stay focused on the safety of all overseas (Filipino) workers (OFWs), as well as domestic peace and order."
Postponing the President’s state visit to the US, he said, "will allow both sides to deal with issues of the day and be able to focus more clearly on the bilateral relationships between both nations during a well-structured visit."
The President had earlier been invited to make a state visit to the US by Bush for a new round of official talks at the White House.
"Given the press of events concerning Iraq, the state visit will be rescheduled for later in the spring," Bunye said, sometime between April and June.
Mrs. Arroyo was supposed to stay in the US and spend her 56th birthday on April 5 in San Francisco with members of the First Family.
As of press time yesterday, Bunye told The STAR the DFA had yet to report to the President regarding the responses of the host governments of her Europe trips.
Senate President Franklin Drilon admitted yesterday that he had recommended that the President consider postponing her planned state visits to the European Union countries and the US during a meeting at the Palace Wednesday.
Drilon said he made his suggestion to the President when she invited him and Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. to join the official delegation of these state visits.
"I told the President that it might not be a good idea to proceed with these trips abroad at a time when there might be war already in the Middle East," he said.
"The President was sympathetic and she said this matter is already being reviewed and this (Middle East situation) is assessed on a day-to-day basis," Drilon added.
It will be recalled the President first postponed her state visits to Spain, Italy and Germany in September last year due to pressing problems in the Philippines, including the budget deficit and the mass deportation of undocumented Filipinos from the Malaysian island of Sabah.
Mrs. Arroyo did not answer questions of whether the Philippines is neutral or not in its position on the Bush administration’s push for the use of military action against Iraq.
She said, however, that it is better to wait for the United Nations arms inspections in Iraq to continue.
"Let us wait for the process of the UN (inspections) to move ahead."
The President said she is for peace and pro-Filipino. "As a leader of the nation who sees the events of the world, it is needed (that while we) hope for the best, (we should) prepare for the worst. That’s why while we are praying for peace, we are making preparations."
She said the direct effects of war in the Middle East would be felt in the prices of oil and consumer products, adding that, "if there would be a war, the faster it comes to an end, the better."
Mrs. Arroyo has been the most vocal supporter of US calls for Iraq to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction.
The President also said her administration would support military action against Iraq only if it is sanctioned by the UN.
However, if Washington decides to go to war without UN approval, the President will convene a national security meeting to determine what position to take.
On the condition of Filipino workers in the Middle East, the President said, "only 10 percent" of the 1.5 million workers living there "might use the option to return home" because "their families are worried over their condition."
As for the stalled peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the President said the offer for peace is still there "for those who want to turn their backs (on) violence."
She said the law is also there to be enforced for those who continue their harassment.
She has dispatched former foreign affairs secretary Roberto Romulo to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for talks on salvaging the peace process with the MILF. The peace talks were suspended nearly two years ago.
Mrs. Arroyo has also given instructions to local government officials in Mindanao to conduct their own peace initiatives with local MILF leaders.
The Philippine National Police (PNP), for its part, said it is ready to provide additional security for the embassies and diplomats in the Philippines.
Police Security and Protection Office head Chief Superintendent Prospero Noble said the PNP has to prepare for war between the US and Iraq. The PSPO oversees the security of all embassies in the Philippines.
"Actually, we are just anticipating additional requests (for security) from (the embassies)," Noble said. "If ever war breaks out in Iraq, we should be prepared (to secure them)."
Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople met with Noble, as well as the ambassadors to Manila, Wednesday to discuss the embassies’ respective security concerns.
Noble said particular focus is given to the Iraqi embassy due to "perceived threats" to the diplomatic mission and its personnel, but did not elaborate.
He has assured the DFA that the PNP is ready to look into the concerns of the embassies even before formal requests are made.
The PNP beefed up security to all embassies immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the US to deter local and foreign terrorists from launching similar attacks in the Philippines. — With reports from Ann Corvera, Cristina Mendez