RP removal from US coalition not official — Ricciardone

The United States has not officially dropped the Philippines from the roster of the coalition of the willing in Iraq, US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone said.

Ricciardone said this to clarify earlier statements made in Washington DC by US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher that the Philippines was no longer a part of the coalition in Iraq.

That the Philippines is out of the coalition of the willing in Iraq is "not an official thing," Ricciardone said.

Boucher was quoted as saying "no. At this point no," in response to a query whether the Philippines is still a member of the coalition of countries that supported the US-led military strike on Iraq in 2003.

Ricciardone returned to the country Tuesday after he flew to Washington "for consultations" with his superiors after President Arroyo ordered the early pullout of the Philippine peacekeeping contingent in Iraq to save the life of truck driver Angelo de la Cruz.

Ricciardone and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Delia Albert are scheduled to meet at the DFA offices in Pasay City and issue a joint statement tomorrow.

Albert made the same announcement at the open forum of the Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC)’s "President’s Night" Friday at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati City — at which the President was guest of honor, with Albert and Ricciardone among the guests.

"Joint statements are usually boring," Ricciardone said. "But we would issue one after we, I and Secretary Albert, have our nice chat on Monday."

Ricciardone also sought to highlight the fact that, despite irritants over the hostage crisis in Iraq, the ties between Philippines and the US are "based on firm and enduring interests" that are deeply rooted in the historic ties between both countries.

"We have a lot of things that we do together," Ricciardone added.

The President, Albert and Ricciardone met at the forum for the first time since Ricciardone left Manila for Washington and issues about the coalition of the willing erupted.

Albert said she has been out of Manila over the past few days. She went straight to the MOPC affair from La Union, where she spent time with her ailing 99-year-old mother.

The DFA chief also said she will be a guest at the weekly MOPC breakfast forum at Ristorante La Dolce Fontana in Greenhills, San Juan town on Thursday to discuss RP-US relations, among other policy issues.

The President and Ricciardone engaged in small talk with MOPC officials led by STAR publisher Max V. Soliven as they sat down to dinner at the same table.

In her speech, Mrs. Arroyo reaffirmed her "Filipino first" foreign policy, which she said guided her decision to withdraw the Philippine humanitarian contingent from Iraq a month before Aug. 20, when its tour of duty was to end.

"Yes we are committed to the war against terrorism and that is neither lip service nor posturing," she said. "Filipino soldiers and Filipino civilians have given up lives beside Americans in this fight."

The president reiterated that she offers "no apologies" for her decision, contrary to the wishes of the Philippines’ allies, including US President George W. Bush.

"We enjoy a strong relationship with the Bush administration and we value its role in helping the Philippines," she said. "We share the same goal even if we will not always walk on the same path."

In the open forum that followed, the President refused to comment on the ongoing campaign for the US elections in November. Bush is running for his third and last term against Democrat John Kerry.

"We do not meddle in the internal affairs of other countries," the President said.