Gaa says negotiations with US lobby firm in final stages

Philippine Ambassador to the United States Willy Gaa has disclosed the possible signing in January of a lobbying contract with prominent Washington DC law firm Covington & Burling LLP, a report in the ABS-CBN News website said yesterday.

“I can confirm that we are in negotiations with Covington & Burling for a consultancy with them,” ABS-CBN quoted Gaa as telling newsmen at the Army and Navy Club in Washington DC on Thursday. 

He also rebuffed Sen. Mar Roxas II for claiming that the contract was overpriced and would only duplicate the job of the embassy. Roxas said earlier the deal would cost $50 million in taxpayers’ money over a period of six months.

Gaa, in the ABS-CBN report written by Rodney Jaleco, said Roxas’ figures were wrong and that the contract would only cost $500,000 over six months.

“The amount that appeared in the newspapers in the Philippines is quite exaggerated,” ABS-CBN quoted Gaa as saying.

“The US has such a big bureaucracy that the embassy, even with its excellent officers and staff, cannot cover all the issues that we want to be considered by the US government,” Gaa said.

According to a public disclosure by the Philippine Embassy, a partner at Covington & Burling and former ambassador to the European Union Stuart Eizenstat would supervise the task of “promoting Philippine interests with the US Congress and the US government on a range of political, economic and security issues.”

He will also “support efforts that can result in increased US trade opportunities, foreign direct investment from US companies, develop new initiatives or expand current programs that support the ability of the Philippine Armed Forces to strengthen capabilities in the areas of security and anti-terrorism.”

Eizenstat’s other tasks are to “work with Philippine government officials to promote increased levels of US development assistance” and “ensure that members of the US Congress and government officials are regularly and accurately updated on developments in the Philippines to promote understanding of the importance and positive developments taking place in the country.”

Eizenstat, according to the ABS-CBN report, is a prominent Democratic insider and served as chief domestic policy adviser to former US President Jimmy Carter. He also served as deputy treasury secretary and commerce department undersecretary under former President Bill Clinton.

Founded on Jan.1, 1919, Covington & Burling has prominent clients that include some of the biggest names in US business such as Bank of America, Kodak, IBM, General Electric, and Procter & Gamble.

Controversial firm Halliburton also tapped its services when an affiliate Kellog-Brown-Root was drawing flak from the US Congress and the media for its questionable activities in Iraq, ABS-CBN News said.

Gaa said Covington & Burling was preferred over three other groups because it’s the only one that’s willing to commit to specific outputs.

The contract with Covington & Burling, when approved, will be funded from a special supplemental budget from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Human rights not the issue

Gaa said it was not the Senate testimonies on the alleged worsening human rights situation in the country that made the government consider the services of Covington & Burling.

“Negotiations were already under way before the issue of human rights violations in the Philippines came about. It was not a factor that we considered although this will also be eventually addressed by the lobby firm in so far as explaining the position of the Philippine government,” Gaa said.

Charges d’ affaires Carlos Sorreta, for his part, said that maintaining or even raising the US military aid is a key concern for the Philippine lobby.

“The assistance we get from the US is always based on the interest that both countries have that this is used properly and how much impact they have,” Sorreta said.