The CDI-Asia Pacific, at the same time, elected Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. as its first president, "ushering in a period of economic and political transformation in the region that is battling grinding poverty and terrorism," its statement said.
In its six-page Manila Declaration, the CDI-Asia Pacific enumerated eight working principles the region-wide political group aims to pursue to bring about lasting peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
"We regard the use of terror for political and military means as a true crime against humanity — terrorism is a barbaric act that no appeal to religion can ever justify. But we agree with Pope John Paul II and the leaders of Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism and Judaism that the culpability of terrorists is always personal — and cannot be extended to the nation, ethnic group or religion," the document said.
"We further believe that, while injustices existing in the world can never be used to excuse acts of terrorism, the anti-terrorist coalition is also duty-bound to alleviate poverty, oppression, injustice and marginalization of peoples which facilitate terrorist recruitment," it said.
The CDI-Asia Pacific took note of the peace processes taking place in Asia, including in the Middle East, Sri Lanka, Korea and Southern Philippines, as it vowed to fully back such efforts.
The signing of the Manila Declaration was witnessed by President Arroyo, who said the launching of the organization would help "bridge the valley that unnecessarily divides us, whether we live across the street, across rivers, or across oceans and continents."
Addressing the hundreds of foreign and local delegates at the launch of CDI-Asia Pacific’s global interfaith dialogue held at the Manila Hotel, Mrs. Arroyo credited interfaith dialogue and the international community’s support for the increasing stability in Mindanao.
Mrs. Arroyo cited Malaysia, members of the Organization of Islamic Conference and other countries in the Middle East, Europe and the United States for supporting the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
"Faith is the greatest antidote to terrorism. We must turn up the flame of faith and understanding as we lower the sword of poverty, destruction and terrorism," she said.
However, Mrs. Arroyo warned that "we must not mistake tolerance and understanding of other faiths and belief systems as a blank check for abuse and we must never accept terrorist violence cloaked in religion by anyone at any time.
"Terrorism is murder and no religion can abide by the faith of the faithless, valueless terrorists who kill in the name of a false god," she added.
Mrs. Arroyo pointed out that the Philippines has been spearheading interfaith dialogue, not only in Asia, but in the United Nations as well.
De Venecia said CDI Asia-Pacific’s launch was the "first step on our journey toward an Asian People’s Party" and it was his vision that it could be the "beginning" of the first regional transnational party in Asia.
He said Asia, which is home to great religions and civilizations, has acquired increasing importance in global affairs because of the rise of China, Japan, and South Korea fueled by their fast-growing economies.
National parties must guide other Asian states by becoming the "instruments of development and a catalyst of change," said De Venecia, president of Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats.
Aznar strongly pushed for greater international cooperation and updating anti-terrorism laws as well as highlighting the "moral legitimacy of the war on terror."
He said terrorism threatens the existence of all free and open societies and that nobody is safe from it.
"That is why we must use all the tools provided by the democratic state and the law to combat terrorism, enhancing cooperation among nations and updating legal instruments in order to strengthen our cooperative measure and make them more effective," Aznar said.
"We must also highlight the moral legitimacy of the war on terror. We must place the victims at the center of our attention because they are the ones who give us the moral strength to continue fighting terrorists until they are defeated," he added.
Aznar said democratic states must make it their "absolute priority" to have "moral recognition of the victims, including those who died or were disfigured, simply because they were in the terrorists’ way."
He said terrorists are appalled that democracy is already taking root in Iraq and Afghanistan as they seek to abolish freedom.
"Whatever ideological excuse or alibi they employ, terrorists simply wish to impose their ideas on others... to abolish democracy and individual freedom in order to impose some exclusivist totalitarian system or other in their place," Aznar said.
The Brussels-based CDI is composed of 110 political parties around the world. Previously called Christian Democrat International, it adopted the name Centrist Democrat International to reflect the growing participation of different religious faiths within the centrist political ideology.
The CDI-Asia Pacific was founded by parties from the Philippines, South Korea, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Pakistan. The ruling Lakas-CMD hosted the event.
As a centrist political organization, the CDI Asia-Pacific vowed to reject all types of extremist politics in favor of politics of consultation, compromise and consensus.
Noting that it is not poverty or deprivation per se that compels ordinary people to take up arms and rebel, the CDI-Asia Pacific called on governments to deliver justice "in its most elementary sense to local peoples in local communities and, particularly, to women, children and other vulnerable groupings in the national community."
The CDI-Asia Pacific said it aims to transform itself into a full-fledged Asian Centrist Party but toward that end, the organization would work to be a "channel for dialogue" between governments, harmonize the growing interdependence among Asia-Pacific nations, and help coordinate national business, investment and financial regulations.
The group also vowed to work toward making mass poverty "history" by pushing for initiatives including a debt-for-equity program and for the G-8 countries to write off multilateral debt owed by the 20 poorest countries.
The declaration also endorsed the development of an "Asian financial architecture" through the creation of an Asian Bond Market, Asian Anti-Poverty Fund and an Asian Monetary Fund.
The CDI Asia Pacific also expressed the aim of transforming the region "without dividing lines" as it noted the success of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in safeguarding Southeast Asia.
"One Asia will give the emerging economies a stronger influence in writing the rules of global trade. More than that, Asian integration will complete the tripod of global interdependence — made up of the European Union, North America, and an Asian community — that could bring our world to a new period of peace and prosperity," its Manila Declaration said.