RP leads UNESCAP talks on global financial crisis

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo’s top anti-poverty adviser was voted chairman at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) on the impact of the global financial crisis on the poor at the UN Conference Center in Bangkok, Thailand last week.

Malacañang said Secretary Domingo Panganiban of the National Anti-Poverty Commission was elected chairman of the first session of the organization’s Committee on Macroeconomic Policy, Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Development.

Speaking during the session’s opening proceedings, Panganiban said the global economic crisis has brought harsh and difficult consequences upon all nations.

“I believe that, far more than an economic discussion, or a technical conference on development, this gathering is in a very real sense a manifestation of our shared capacity to meet the human and material problems of this century,” he said.

Regional cooperation and swift and decisive national action have become important during a long period of post-crisis adjustment and recovery for the people and governments of the Asia-Pacific, he added.

Panganiban’s election came on the heels of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s warning that poorer countries are bound to feel some of the worst effects of the crisis.

Ban had urged the UN to make the most of opportunities to strengthen collective action.

Panganiban said the UN committee’s main task for the future is to institute policies that would help the developing nations of the Asia-Pacific achieve quick recovery with focus on the poor and most vulnerable.

“The main objective of the governments of the Asia Pacific at this point is to prevent the financial crisis from becoming a human crisis,” he said. – Paolo Romero