[asia-apec 181] Re: Philippine visa

[RVerzola]

The Philippine government has just announced that it will turn back
foreign visitors who are coming in to "disrupt" the APEC meeting in
November. It also announced that recent Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose
Ramos-Horta will not be allowed into the country to attend the Manila
People's Forum on APEC.

I am not sure about the implications of this new policy for all those
participants who are coming for the various conferences in Manila this
November. Perhaps it might be simpler if those who could come in as
tourists simply stated that they are coming in as such, instead of
explicitly stating that they are attending one of the alternative APEC
conferences.

It would be good to hear what others think about this potential
harassment situation by the Philippine government.

Obet Verzola