Palace sets aside P200M for hosting interfaith meet

MANILA, Philippines - The government will spend P200 million for the first of such an international event that it will host in May. In Administrative Order 238 signed by Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita on Aug. 28., President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo authorized the fund’s release for the special Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial Meeting on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace and Development. The order noted the amount would come from the International Commitments Fund of the 2009 budget. The Philippines was chosen by 118 member states during a summit in Havana, Cuba in September 2006. Prior to this, the country chaired the First Informal Meeting of World Leaders on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace in the United Nations on Sept. 13, 2005. The Philippines also hosted the Second Dialogue on Regional Interfaith Cooperation for Peace, Development and Human Dignity on March 14-16, 2006. In her address during the 63rd United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Mrs. Arroyo reiterated the country’s commitment to peace and announced that the Philippines will host the first ministerial meet on interfaith dialogue next year. In the same order, Mrs. Arroyo designated the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as lead agency to organize the activities in Pasay and Manila. The DFA will coordinate with the Offices of the Executive Secretary, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and Press Secretary; departments of Budget, Education, Finance, Interior and Local Government, Defense, Public Works, Tourism, Trade, and Transportation and Communications; Presidential Council for Values Formation, Presidential Security Group; and local governments for technical support. — Alexis Douglas B. Romero, BusinessWorld