GMA on Mideast conflict: I’m pro-Filipino, not pro-war

She still walks the middle line.

President Arroyo said Tuesday night that as far as the Middle East conflict between the United States and Iraq is concerned, her stand is to protect the interests and welfare of the Filipino people.

The President said this on a preview of the GMA 7 news feature program Jessica Soho Reports that airs tonight. A portion of this report was broadcast on the network’s Saksi news program Tuesday night.

"You know these perceptions of pro-this and pro-that, I am pro-Filipino," the President said, showing displeasure over the "pro-war" tag put on her by militant local anti-war groups. These groups assailed what they called her implicit support for the US intention to wage war with Iraq.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) recently asked the President to drop her "pro-war" stance on matter of the Middle East conflict.

Mrs. Arroyo, a devout Catholic, has been one of the most vocal supporters of US President George W. Bush in Asia. Bush has been pushing for military action against Iraq for Baghdad’s refusal to comply with the United Nations order to disarm and dismantle its alleged weapons of mass destruction.

"Of course I want peace," the President said, "but, nonetheless, as a leader of the nation who sees the events of the world, we must also hope for the best and prepare for the worst."

This was the reason why, she said, she has ordered various government agencies to prepare contingency plans to mitigate the possible impact of war in the Middle East on the country.

The President said the Philippines would be seriously affected if war breaks out between the US and Iraq. There are over 1.5 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East and the Philippines is heavily reliant on crude oil importations from the Persian Gulf region.

"And the alliances I enter into, this depends on what is good for the country from my point of view, the President added, not specifying what alliances she referred to. However, the President could have alluded to her decision for the Philippines to join and participate in the US-led global coalition against international terrorism following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon building in Washington DC.

On the President’s initiatives the Philippines also subsequently forged a trilateral anti-terrorism alliance with its neighbors, namely Malaysia and Indonesia. This anti-terrorism alliance in the region gained wider membership with last week’s forging of an anti-terror pact between the Philippines and Australia.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) has asked the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for 200 vials of smallpox vaccine as a precautionary stockpile in the event war erupts in the Middle East and biological warfare is used.

"We have requested 200 vials of smallpox vaccine from the (CDC) in Atlanta for our front-line health workers who will investigate or care for suspected cases," Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said in a statement.

Dayrit assured that the country has available medicines in the public and commercial sectors to fight any infection by possible biological warfare agents. – With Rainier Allan Ronda and Mayen Jaymalin