[asia-apec 166] APEC Raps Manila for leak of papers
alarm
alarm at pw.net
Wed Oct 16 20:14:22 JST 1996
APEC RAPS MANILA FOR LEAK OF PAPERS
(Published in Philippine Daily Inquirer, October 16, 1996)
This year's host of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' summit
slated next month is finding out that one can't keep a secret in Manila.
Diplomatic sources told the inquirer that APEC members like the United
States were irked upon learning that the contents of their Individual
Action Plans (IAPs) were divulge to the media last month by Walden Bello,
a UP professor and head of the Manila People's forum on APEC, a group
critical of the APEC Forum.
Bello, in that conference, had particularly hit the Philippine Government
for submitting an IAP that he stressed intend to turn its liberalization
policies into an international commitment without seeking approval from
congress.
All the 18 member-economies of APEC have submitted to Manila their IAPs,
which contain the steps they intend to take to meet their goal in
liberalizing trade in their respective countries.
The IAPs will be up for review by senior officials from AEPC member
economies who will be here in Manila this week for the last senior
officials' meetings and Foreign Under secretary Federico Macaranas told a
news conference yesterday.
CURIOUS, SURPRISED
Antonio Basilio, deputy chair of the fourth APEC Senior Officials'
Meeting which is scheduled this week, confirmed that some delegates like
the United States and Australia had called up and were "curious to find
out how it happened."
Basilio acknowledge that some of the delegates were "surprised" about the
leakage of the content of the IAPs.
He said that while the IAPs are public documents, these were considered
temporarily confidential" at this point because they were being prepared
for the APEC leaders' summit next month.
Diplomatic sources said that a ranking official from the Department of
Trade and Industry turned over the IAPs to a member of congress who asked
for them. The congressman later gave them to Bello.
UPSET
Last month, sources privy to APEC preparations said security conscious
APEC delegates were "upset" by the disclosure to the media of the Hotel
accommodations for their respective heads of state.
Macaranas said that the Manila Action Plans for APEC (MAPA), which
contains the IAPs of the 18 member-economies, are just among documents
that APEC senior officials will be submitting to the AEPC Ministerial
Meeting on November 24.
He said the senior officials will analyze the IAPs, which have been
revised by some member-economies, in order to come up with a common
format.
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