SOURCE: ANN
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III got rare praise from senatorJoker Arroyo who likened his decision to boycott the Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies for Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo with the Arroyo administration's withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
"If you are the President, that is a hard decision to make. When confronted with hard choices, a President must exercise his will. It is a judgment call," Arroyo said in an interview with dzBB radio. He noted that both acts were meant to save Filipino lives at the risk of incurring the ire of the country's Western partners.
The senator lauded Aquino for his "decisiveness" in moving to save the five Filipinos on death row for drug trafficking by siding with China on Friday's Nobel boycott even though there was no certainty his plea would be granted.
"We are engaged in a gamble. Because of the action of the Philippines, we are hoping that China will act on our request for a pardon. We should respect that," said Arroyo, the first executive secretary of the late President Corazon Aquino, Mr. Aquino's mother.
He said the move was no different from the decision of then President former Philippine president Gloria Arroyo to pull out the country's 51-member contingent from Iraq in July 2004 as demanded by Iraqi kidnappers of Filipino truck driver Angelo dela Cruz.
The Philippines was criticized then by the United States and its allies.
"The US keeps on condemning us about our human rights abuses even if we try our best. But the (US itself) has human rights issues, such as the ones in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay (detention facility in Cuba), so why should we be apologetic?" Arroyo said.
He said it was about time that the Philippines protected its national interest instead of catering to the interests of other countries.
Arroyo said more than the country's desire to make up for the botched Aug. 23 hostage rescue that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead, Mr. Aquino was right in putting the interest of the five Filipinos above the Oslo ceremony.
Dangerous policy
At the House of Representatives, however, Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello Sunday joined critics of Mr. Aquino's move, saying his action on Liu was "very dangerous."
"It will simply encourage China to make demands on bigger issues than Oslo. We're making ourselves hostage to Chinese foreign policy," said the chair of the House committee on overseas workers.
Bello plans to write letters to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) "for caving in" to China's pressure.
"I think the DFA has badly advised the President here," he said. There was no basis, he said, for thinking that China would execute the Filipinos if the government participated in the Oslo rites.
Bello said the DFA should realize that making such a concession now would encourage Beijing to demand more concessions in the future, like giving up the country's claim to the resources-rich Spratly islands.
"Will we then give up our claims to Spratlys if China threatens to do something drastic to Filipinos in Chinese jails?" he said.
Aquino told the Inquirer that his decision to boycott the Oslo rites did not mean that his administration was not championing democracy and human rights.
"Our interest (is) to advance our citizens' needs first," he said in his first comments since human rights activists criticized the Philippines' decision to boycott Friday's ceremony with China and 16 other countries.
China was outraged at the award for democracy advocate Liu Xiaobo, demonizing him in state media and portraying the Nobel as a Western propaganda tool to undermine China. It sought to persuade and pressure other countries to not attend the ceremony, and nearly all the boycotters were close China allies and trading partners.
Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao has said his government did not pressure or influence the Philippines. With reports from TJ Burgonio and Christine O. Avendano
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Philippine President Benigno Aquino III got rare praise from senatorJoker Arroyo who likened his decision to boycott the Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies for Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo with the Arroyo administration's withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
"If you are the President, that is a hard decision to make. When confronted with hard choices, a President must exercise his will. It is a judgment call," Arroyo said in an interview with dzBB radio. He noted that both acts were meant to save Filipino lives at the risk of incurring the ire of the country's Western partners.
The senator lauded Aquino for his "decisiveness" in moving to save the five Filipinos on death row for drug trafficking by siding with China on Friday's Nobel boycott even though there was no certainty his plea would be granted.
"We are engaged in a gamble. Because of the action of the Philippines, we are hoping that China will act on our request for a pardon. We should respect that," said Arroyo, the first executive secretary of the late President Corazon Aquino, Mr. Aquino's mother.
He said the move was no different from the decision of then President former Philippine president Gloria Arroyo to pull out the country's 51-member contingent from Iraq in July 2004 as demanded by Iraqi kidnappers of Filipino truck driver Angelo dela Cruz.
The Philippines was criticized then by the United States and its allies.
"The US keeps on condemning us about our human rights abuses even if we try our best. But the (US itself) has human rights issues, such as the ones in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay (detention facility in Cuba), so why should we be apologetic?" Arroyo said.
He said it was about time that the Philippines protected its national interest instead of catering to the interests of other countries.
Arroyo said more than the country's desire to make up for the botched Aug. 23 hostage rescue that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead, Mr. Aquino was right in putting the interest of the five Filipinos above the Oslo ceremony.
Dangerous policy
At the House of Representatives, however, Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello Sunday joined critics of Mr. Aquino's move, saying his action on Liu was "very dangerous."
"It will simply encourage China to make demands on bigger issues than Oslo. We're making ourselves hostage to Chinese foreign policy," said the chair of the House committee on overseas workers.
Bello plans to write letters to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) "for caving in" to China's pressure.
"I think the DFA has badly advised the President here," he said. There was no basis, he said, for thinking that China would execute the Filipinos if the government participated in the Oslo rites.
Bello said the DFA should realize that making such a concession now would encourage Beijing to demand more concessions in the future, like giving up the country's claim to the resources-rich Spratly islands.
"Will we then give up our claims to Spratlys if China threatens to do something drastic to Filipinos in Chinese jails?" he said.
Aquino told the Inquirer that his decision to boycott the Oslo rites did not mean that his administration was not championing democracy and human rights.
"Our interest (is) to advance our citizens' needs first," he said in his first comments since human rights activists criticized the Philippines' decision to boycott Friday's ceremony with China and 16 other countries.
China was outraged at the award for democracy advocate Liu Xiaobo, demonizing him in state media and portraying the Nobel as a Western propaganda tool to undermine China. It sought to persuade and pressure other countries to not attend the ceremony, and nearly all the boycotters were close China allies and trading partners.
Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao has said his government did not pressure or influence the Philippines. With reports from TJ Burgonio and Christine O. Avendano
