GMA: Sulu execs seek reconsideration, but…

Sulu officials are now prodding Malacañang to reconsider the island-province as the venue for the planned Philippine-US Balikatan 03-1 military exercise, President Arroyo said yesterday.

Appearing in the early morning TV talk show Unang Hirit on Channel 7, the President said Sulu officials obviously had a change of mind about the joint military exercise, which they strongly objected to when it was first announced last month.

Mrs. Arroyo said she is personally against the idea of holding the Balikatan in Sulu if the residents are opposed to the idea.

But Sulu officials, she said, explained to her that their constituents only initially resisted the idea of holding the Balikatan exercise in the province because they were not informed prior to its announcement.

"I would rather not have it in Sulu because they rejected it already," Mrs. Arroyo said. "There are so many provinces which want to host it."

The President said there are 10 other provinces, which sent their requests to host the military exercise, some of which are even talking to the Americans directly.

The latest offer to host the Balikatan came from Zambales Gov. Vicente Magsaysay, who was among the local executives invited to the recent peace and order campaign meeting at the Palace. Magsaysay heads the Central Luzon Peace and Order Council.

Mrs. Arroyo, however, said Magsaysay’s offer will be considered alongside the earlier offers of North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Piñol, and the governors of Mimaropa (Mindoro Oriental, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan).

In a radio interview yesterday, the President also confirmed the dispatch of Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya, the military’s Southern Command chief, to Washington D to work out the details of the Balikatan with his counterparts in the Pentagon.