Despite criticisms, Palace says ASEAN summit still on
BRUSHING aside criticism from neighboring countries, Malacanang said the government will push through hosting the postponed summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by the second week of January, a senior Palace official said Wednesday.
"Let's just say that we' re leaving them to their belief of what might be the reason but it's not for us to contend their own thoughts," Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said at his weekly news briefing, referring to separate statements by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Japanese economic minister Akira Amari.
The Cambodian leader said the threat of terror attacks was one of the reasons for the summit’s postponement while Amari said the ASEAN meet was "as good as dead."
Ermita insisted the postponement was due to the approach of typhoon “Seniang” (international codename: Utor) and that the summit will be held in the second week of January, still in Cebu.
He said he did not believe the statement made by Amari reflected the Japanese government’s official stand.
"I just said we are scheduling it for the second week of January. I don't see why for example, when I say that the horse is about to participate in the race two or three weeks from now, I don't see why some are saying that horse is dead," he said.
While the threat of terrorism persists, he said it was "not that serious" to cause the summit’s postponement.
The best proof of this, he said, was the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Manila on December 8 and 9, when the decision to put the summit on hold was made.
Solons to Japanese official on summit postponement: ‘Unfair’
“UNFAIR” and “uncalled for” were how two administration lawmakers at the House of Representatives described on Wednesday the statement of a Japanese official against the Philippines' decision to postpone the ASEAN Summit.
Bacolod Representative Monico Puentevella and Zamboanga del Sur Representative Isidoro Real said it was “totally unfair” for Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari to say that the country had lost credibility when it moved the summit to January.
In a joint statement Wednesday, Puentevella and Real insisted that the postponement was justifiable because of the threat posed by typhoon “Seniang” (international codename: Utor).
“If the storm had scored a direct hit and devastated the summit venue in Cebu, then we would have been praised for our foresight or condemned if we had pushed through with the meeting,” Puentevella said.
He said the decision to postpone the summit was a judgment call, which government officials had to do to protect the world leaders.
“We were facing a clear case of force majeure and not even the superpowers can deal with the dangers brought by typhoon,” Puentevella said.
“We've seen the devastation caused by Seniang, which proves the government's decision to postpone the summit was right,” he added.
Real said the country's credibility should not be judged solely based on the summit postponement. Over the years, Real said the country had successfully handled the hosting of numerous international meetings. “In fact, we successfully hosted the ASEAN Summit in 1996,” he said.
“A lot of international conventions and meetings are being held in the country because of our ability to organize them plus the fact that our country provides an attractive venue for these meetings,” Real said.