Obama: Polls in 2010 good for RP democracy

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is glad that the Philippines will elect its new leaders next year in an exercise that will “solidify the democratic process.”

Obama voiced his sentiment in his 45-minute meeting with President Arroyo at the White House.

There was no mention of the political process in Obama’s statement or in Mrs. Arroyo’s after the meeting. But US Ambassador Kristie Kenney told The STAR that the US president spoke about the long tradition of democracy in the Philippines in his talks with Mrs. Arroyo and said the May 2010 elections were a continuation of this democratic process.

Kenney described the talks as “incredibly good.”

Philippine Ambassador to the US Willy Gaa, the official note taker for the Filipino team, concurred.

He said Obama expressed satisfaction “with the election process going on in the Philippines, which would solidify the democratic process.”

“This is terrific,” Gaa quoted Obama as saying.

The two leaders and their advisers met at the Oval Office and discussed wide-ranging issues including security, terrorism and climate change for about 45 minutes before reporters were ushered in for their brief statements. They sat on flanking chairs in front of a fireplace.

Obama designated the Philippines as the coordinating country in US relationships with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and lauded Mrs. Arroyo for making “good progress” in dealing with counter terrorism issues.

As Mrs. Arroyo’s motorcade swept into the northwest gate of the White House leading to the Oval Office, about 50 leftists waved protest banners and shouted anti-Arroyo slogans.

Reporters covering her arrival could clearly hear their shouts of “tuta, tuta (lapdog).”

A smaller group of Arroyo supporters earlier rallied outside the White House, shouting her praises and thanking her for bringing progress to the Philippines.

In his statement Obama praised Mrs. Arroyo for her efforts to fight terrorism and her help in dealing with the problems of Burma and North Korea. He noted the Philippines is hosting a conference next year on nuclear non-proliferation.

He also praised Mrs. Arroyo for initiating a reconciliation process in troubled Mindanao “that we think has the potential to bring peace and stability to a part of the Philippines that has been wracked by unrest for too long.”

“We’re going to have a busy agenda together,” Obama said.

He said the Philippines is a small country, but, to use a boxing metaphor, it “punches above its weight (class) in the international arena.”

“We are grateful President Arroyo is with us today and look forward to using this meeting as a way of launching even greater cooperation between our two countries in the years to come,” Obama said.

“We are proud to have four million people of Philippine ancestry contributing to our country each and every day in all walks of life,” he added.

Mrs. Arroyo is the first Southeast Asian leader invited to the Obama White House.

In her statement she thanked the US for its “hard power” in helping professionalize the Armed Forces of the Philippines and making it more effective.

She also acknowledged America’s “soft power” in helping the Philippines build roads, schools and bridges.

“This assistance of the US has gone a long way in helping us achieve what we have been able to achieve in the peace process in Mindanao, in southern Philippines, and also in our fight against terrorism,” she said.

She said the Philippines supported US efforts in Burma and North Korea and welcomed Obama’s plans to battle global warming which “threatens disaster for our country.”

“We are already feeling the weather pattern changes and the rising seas,” Mrs. Arroyo added.

She also thanked Obama for his “new engagement in our part of the world.”

After their statements a journalist from each side was allowed to ask a question and predictably, a US reporter’s question was on a domestic topic unrelated to the Arroyo visit.

A Filipino broadcaster selected by Malacañang to represent the Philippine press asked each leader their impressions of each other.

Mrs. Arroyo said Obama was “warm, cordial and welcoming” and had a “deep understanding of the Philippines and the Filipino people.”

“We connected very well also with regard to Burma, North Korea and its nuclear adventurism and terrorism,” she said.

Obama said Mrs. Arroyo has done outstanding work on a whole range of issues.

“She is somebody who knows the issues (and) has experience leading the Philippines through difficult times,” he said.

“Aside from her great personal charm, we are very appreciative of the concrete ways in which her administration has pursued strengthening ties with the US, so I’m very grateful for that,” Obama added.

After the Oval Office meeting Mrs. Arroyo, speaking live on radio to Filipino listeners, said the main aim of her visit to Washington was to meet Obama and cement relations with the new US President. It was “mission accomplished” she said.

Mrs. Arroyo was accompanied to the Oval Office by Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Speaker Prospero Nograles, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Presidential adviser on climate change Heherson Alvarez, Gaa and Secretary for special concerns Medy Poblador.

Obama had six advisers in tow, including Kenney.

The media event lasted about 10 minutes.

Ermita, briefing reporters, later said Mrs. Arroyo brought up “our human rights issue” even though it was not raised by Obama.

He also said Mrs. Arroyo told Obama some of the charges against her administration were “unproven perceptions and innuendoes being converted into facts that are not necessarily so.”

Asked why she felt the need to bring the matter up, Ermita told reporters this was to clear the air because the Millennium Challenge Corp. is presently evaluating a $584-million compact with the Philippines.

Election yes, Cha-cha no

Former US ambassador to the Philippines John Negroponte said the elections in 2010 have to proceed for democracy to develop, warning that changing the Constitution to extend term limits could complicate relations with the US, an abs-cbnnews.com report said.

Negroponte was ambassador to the Philippines in 1993 and the first Director of National Intelligence, overseeing America’s formidable intelligence apparatus.

He said next year’s national elections will be the “next important stage in the evolution of Philippine democracy.”

“The Philippines has been a democracy for a very long time. It’s a question of perfecting democracy, not a question of any serious deficit. It’s important that this next election takes place a year from now so I think everyone is very attentive to that,” he said.

While stressing he’s retired from government and no longer speaks for the US government, Negroponte in the abs-cbnnews.com report said his own experience showed that attempting to change a Constitution carried a steep price.

“Changing a Constitution is a very serious matter and can also be distracting. It can absorb a lot of political energy that might be better used for other pursuits,” he said.

“When one talks about constitutional changes, it is a very serious matter and one wants to weigh carefully the costs,” he explained.

But Negroponte stressed that ultimately, it all boils down to what Filipinos want or are willing to accept.

“From our overall perspective we believe that whatever is decided in a democratic fashion, who are we to complain?” he said.

“My view, based on my experience in nine or 10 different countries, I noticed that when governments or leaders contemplate this kind of changes, they bring with them considerable complications and certainly the more straightforward approach is to proceed with the existing institutional arrangements,” he said.

Negroponte had been an ambassador to Honduras whose incumbent leader Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a coup after he attempted to change his country’s Constitution.

In the abs-cbnnews.com report, Negroponte also indicated that the terror threat is diminished in Mindanao, but that US troops are staying because the Philippines wants them there.

“We do not carry out any military activity in the Philippines that does not have the complete agreement of the Philippine government,” he said.

“I believe at the moment the threat in Mindanao is within the capacity of the Philippine armed forces in cooperation with friendly countries,” he said.

“My impression was that (Mindanao) was more of a victim than a base area. The threats were coming from outside. Indonesia and the Philippines were the two places we were concerned about the al-Qaeda threat,” he said. – With abscbnnews.com, AP