[asia-apec 166] APEC Raps Manila for leak of papers

[alarm]

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.