MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ scheduled hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2015 will push through despite a proposal from a Cabinet member to cancel it, President Aquino assured yesterday.
“There’s a proposal. But I was saying that is there a need to do so? I don’t… At this point, I don’t agree,” he told officers and members of the weekly Bulong Pulungan forum of mostly female veteran journalists at the Sofitel Plaza in Pasay City.
Aquino’s statement was in reply to a query from a businesswoman Sandee Masigan who wanted to hear it from the Chief Executive whether the report was true, since backing out of the APEC 2015 hosting would definitely not do the country any good.
“If it will make the Cabinet or everybody in government feel better, we from the business sector are like really behind you, and we wish and hope and pray that we push through with APEC,” she told the President.
Masigan has since been looking forward to the hosting in Manila. “It’s really going to do the country a world of good. So we’re all behind you, if you need anything, we’re all here from the business sector.”
Aquino nonetheless defended the Cabinet member who made the proposal.
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“In fairness to that particular Cabinet member, iyung given the enormity of the reconstruction, rehabilitation efforts for Yolanda, he was thinking na shouldn’t this be the sole priority, in a sense, at this point in time,” he said.
The APEC Summit, which would include leaders from the US, Japan and China, will be held in the Philippines in Nov. 2015. A number of preparatory meetings in the ministerial and senior official levels will be held throughout the year in the run up to the summit.
The APEC leaders’ meeting, said to be the biggest and most high- profile annual gathering of world leaders from 21-member economies, will be hosted by President Aquino before he ends his term in June 2016.
Preparations including security and logistical requirements are being laid out as early as this year, Undersecretary Laura del Del Rosario of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.
Already, the Philippine government has a “shortlist of events” where APEC leaders and delegates will be placed.
“Remember the APEC is culminated by the Leader’s Summit but APEC Meetings are going on in the ministerial and sub-ministerial levels months before the actual event,” Secretary Ricky Carandang said earlier.
“So, we are hoping that as the APEC delegates meet in various capacities throughout the year, that they will have a chance to visit different parts of the Philippines and see how much more fun it is,” he said.
The Philippine government shortlisted eight cities and destinations as possible venues for high-level meetings when the Philippines hosts the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in 2015.
