Last Monday, Nov. 19, 2007, a delegation of parliamentarians headed by Hartmut Nassauer from the European Union (EU) visited with the Opposition in the Philippine Senate.

The Filipino opposition senators shared with the EU parliamentarians their views on Myanmar, Global Warming and Mining.

A. On Myanmar, the Filipino senators told the guests that:

1. They suggest that Gambari should be replaced because he has been ineffective in articulating and pushing for the rights of the Burmese people. It is our impression that he is not quite up to the job. He should be replaced by someone from ASEAN.

2.  The Ruling Junta should restore democracy to Burma by releasing Aung San Syu Kyi and the pro-democracy leaders who have been imprisoned not only in the recent August crackdown but earlier (in 1990) when the National Assembly was dissolved.

3.  They applauded the recent Chinese turn around in pressuring the Junta to ease up on the repressions in Burma.

4.  They hope that EU would continue its own pressure on the Junta so that democracy may be realized sooner than later.

5.  The EU should not place too much hope on ASEAN because its loose organizational set-up prevents ASEAN as ASEAN to impose binding sanctions on Burma.

The visiting delegation assured the Filipino opposition senator that indeed EU will do what it believes can be done to bring democratic reforms to Burma sooner than later.

B. On Global Warming, the Filipino senators informed their guests that:
1. The country is committed to the Kyoto protocol on global warming;
2. The Philippines has its own Clean Air Act and other laws designed to cleanse the environment of pollution.
3. The Filipino Senate leaders are committed to support an upgrading of the contents of Kyoto to promote a cleaner and safer environment that will help combat global warming.

C. On Mining, the Filipino senators were surprised that their guests did not discuss mining issues which contribute much to the degradation of the environment. Let us just say the senators and their visitors did not have enough time to go into mining in detail.

Issued by: The Office of Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr.
Senate of the Philippines
Pasay City
website: www.nenepimentel.org

email: nenepimentel@pldtdsl.net