Former Speaker Jose de Venecia said yesterday the Supreme Court’s rapid solution to the constitutional crisis with the final reaffirmation of President Arroyo’s presidency would now focus the country’s energies to "full-scale economic mobilization."
At the same time, de Venecia disclosed that he had informed President Arroyo upon his recent return from international meetings in Rome, that almost 100 major Christian-Democrat political parties in Europe and Latin America are now calling on their business and industrial leaders to resume foreign investments in the Philippines under the new government.
De Venecia said the world’s Christian democratic leaders, who have a majority in the European Parliament, hoped that the action by foreign business leaders would activate Filipino businessmen’s investments in their own country.
The unanimous declaration by Europe’s political leaders was part of a resolution by the Executive Committee of the Christian Democrat and People’s Parties International (CDI) headed by former Belgium Premier Wilfred Martens, mobilizing international political and economic support for President Arroyo to rebuild the nation and restore the damaged economy.
De Venecia, Lakas NUCD-UMDP national chairman and Vice President of the world’s Christian Democrats, initiated the CDI resolution. He said President Arroyo, Vice President and Foreign Secretary Teofisto Guingona and he were elated by the positive European and Latin American response.
Yesterday, he informed the CDI’s almost 100 political parties worldwide including the CDI headquarters in Brussels, Belgium of the 13-0 Supreme Court vote decisively affirming President Arroyo’s presidency.
Prior to the CDI executive committee meeting which brought together political leaders of Italy, Germany, Spain, Belgium, France, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, Norway, Columbia, Africa, and the Philippines, de Venecia addressed Italy’s De Gasperi’s Foundation, headed by Italian Sen. Angelo Bernasolla, attended by six former Italian Prime Ministers and by the Vatican’s Cardinal Bautista Re, head of the world’s Catholic bishops, who spoke with de Venecia and former Premier Martens.
The world’s Christian Democrats had earlier agreed to back de Venecia’s proposals for a medium to long-term program to support the creation of an Asian Parliament, an Asian Common Market and an eventual Asian Union.
In his presentation in Rome to the European and Latin American leaders on the Arroyo Government’s economic and peace agenda, de Venecia proposed strongly Philippine preference for direct foreign investments (DFI) as against speculative portfolio investments.