Cebu City is rolling out the welcome mat for some 300 parliamentarians and officials from all over Southeast Asia in the 27th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO), which kicks off here on Sunday.
Philippine House Speaker Jose de Venecia, current AIPO president, leads nine speakers of parliament who have confirmed participation in the meeting that will tackle vital issues and the possible conversion of the body into the ASEAN Parliamentary Council as a prelude to an ASEAN Parliament.
The delegates have started arriving in this Queen City of the south from the AIPO member legislatures that include Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and the Philippines and the leaders of special observer countries of Myanmar and Brunei.
When De Venecia formally opens the assembly on Monday, the Philippines will be hosting the first of two premier meetings this year, one of the region’s top parliamentary leaders and the other the ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in December in Cebu City.
The two events are seen to further bolster the country’s image in the region and recognize the parliamentary leadership of De Venecia and the executive leadership of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in tackling some of Southeast Asia’s most important issues.
“The Philippines has the unprecedented honor of hosting two important regional meetings this year,” said De Venecia, who is AIPO president for the second time.
De Venecia is also former president of the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace, and is chairman for an unprecedented third time of the Standing Committee of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), which is currently convening its fourth assembly in Seoul.
After De Venecia, eight other heads of parliament from Southeast Asia have confirmed their AIPO attendance. They are Samdech Heng Samrin of Cambodia, Suchon Chaleekure of Thailand, Tan Sri Dato Diraja Ramli Ngah Talib of Malaysia, Agung Laksono of Indonesia, Abdullah Tarmugi of Singapore, Thongsing Thammavong of Laos, Nguyen Phu Trong of Vietnam, and Senate President Manuel Villar of the Philippines.
The General Assembly carries the theme “Caring and Sharing for ASEAN prosperity,” reflecting a strong concern for economic growth and equity among neighbors in the region, says Rep. Antonio Cuenco, chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee and head of the Organizing Committee for the 27th AIPO General Assembly.
Cuenco said “AIPO Cebu 2006” is also expected to strengthen sentiment for political unification among Asean nations by launching the beginnings of an Asean parliament to legislate and confirm common action on world peace, anti-terrorism, poverty, environmental health, narcotic drug trade, cross-border crimes, human rights and social justice.
AIPO dialogue partner-countries, such as Japan, Australia, Korea, New Zealand, the European Parliament, and the Russian Federation, will be sending their delegates.
The Philippine delegation is made up of senior members of the House of Representatives, namely, Deputy Speaker Raul del Mar, Representatives Roque Ablan, Robert Ace Barbers, Edgar Chatto, Simeon Kintanar, Ramon Durano VI, Clavel Martinez, Nerissa Soon-Ruiz, Antonio Yapha, Herminio Teves, Eduardo Zialcita, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Luis Villafuerte, Emmylou Talino-Santos, Iggy Arroyo, Mat Defensor, Vincent Garcia, Janette Garin, Eduardo Gullas, Josefina Joson, Milagros Magsaysay, Oscar Malapitan, Reylina Nicolas, Joey Salceda, Lorna Silverio and Akbayan party-list Rep. Loretta Ann Rosales. (PNA)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment