FOREIGN SECRETARY PROMOTES ICJ CANDIDATE

UNCLAS MANILA 000315 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MTS, IO/UNP, L E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ICG IO PGOV PREL RP SUBJECT: FOREIGN SECRETARY PROMOTES ICJ CANDIDATE REF: 2007 MANILA 3771 ¶1. (U) Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo hosted a February 4 luncheon in support of the candidacy of Philippine Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague. DCM attended, along with ambassadors from France, Indonesia, Panama, Russia, and Vietnam, as well as the DCM of the Libyan Embassy and the Costa Rican Consul. Following an enthusiastic introduction by the Foreign Secretary, Defensor-Santiago offered remarks in which she outlined her vision for the work that lies ahead at the ICJ. ¶2. (U) Defensor-Santiago, who holds two degrees from the University of Michigan Law School, serves as Chair of the Philippine Senate's Committee on Foreign Relations, and enjoys the full support of the Arroyo administration. An active legislator, the 63-year-old Defensor-Santiago calls herself the "Anti-Corruption Senator," and has also focused on human rights, women's and children's issues, health, and education. A former judge, law professor, and Secretary of Agrarian Reform, Defensor-Santiago was narrowly defeated by Fidel Ramos in her 1992 presidential bid. ¶3. (SBU) COMMENT: The Philippines is proactively supporting its ICJ candidate, who is a well-known public figure here. The Philippines, one of the UN's founding members, has not had a representative on the ICJ since former Philippine Chief Justice Cesar Bengzon's 1967-1976 term. KENNEY