RP still hopeful of getting OIC observer status

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo is hopeful that the Philippines would be granted observer status in the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).

Romulo said he got the assurances of support in his meeting with OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and other key member-states of the 57-member Muslim union during the Third Extraordinary Islamic Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

"Speaker Jose de Venecia, who was there, said he got the assurance of the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques that they fully support our bid for observer status," he said. "I got that assurance, too."

Romulo said he is not aware if the OIC will look into the observer status of the Philippines, although it is studying a possible review of the criteria for membership.

"I was not aware that they were going to look into observer status because those are two different things," he said. "At any rate, the Third Extraordinary Islamic Summit in Saudi Arabia was focused on the OIC’s role in a changing world."

"While it may be that membership is part of the discussion, its focus is on how the OIC will become more dynamic, more attuned to what is happening in the Muslim world and all over the world," he said.

Romulo said the government will continue to work hard to get the OIC approval of its application.

The observer status granted to Russia in the OIC is a positive sign for the Philippines, he added. — Pia Lee-Brago