(U) Secretary Clinton's November 12, 2009,

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARTO 113007


(Note: the unique message record number (MRN) has been modified. The original MRN was 09 PARTO 000007, which duplicates a previous PARTO telegram number.)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2019
TAGS: OVIP CLINTON HILLARY PREL PGOV PTER PHUM
PARM, MOPS, ECON, EAID, KMCA, KNNP, MCC, RP
SUBJECT: (U) Secretary Clinton's November 12, 2009,
Meeting with Philippine Foreign Secretary Romulo


1. (U) Classified by: Kin W. Moy, Deputy Executive
Secretary, S/ES, Department of State. Reason 1.4 (d).


2. (U) November 12, 2009; 1:30 p.m.; Manila,
Philippines.


3. (U) Participants:

U.S.
The Secretary
Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney
Ambassador Scot Marciel, EAP DAS
Deputy Chief of Staff Jake Sullivan
Deputy Chief of Staff Huma Abedin
DAS Philippe Reines, PA
LTGEN Paul Selva, JCS
David Greenberg (Embassy Notetaker)

PHILIPPINES
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo
Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro
ExeQive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Office of the
President
Undersecretary Enrique Manalo, DFA
Undersecretary Rafael Seguis, DFA
Ambassador to the United States Willy Gaa
Ambassador Libran Cabactulan
Assistant Secretary Evan Garcia, DFA
Assistant Secretary Lourdes Yparraguirre, DFA
Deena Amatong (DFA Notetaker)



4. (C) SUMMARY. Foreign SecretaQomulo and Defense
Secretary Teodoro briefed Secretary Qton on damage
from recent storms and thanked her for USG assistance.
The Philippines' lead peace negotiator explained his
work toward concluding by June a comprehensive peace
agreement with the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF). Responding to Philippine concern,
Secretary Clinton said she hoped the Millennium
Challenge Corporation (MCC) would prove flexible enough
to take into account the recent devastation in the
Philippines when considering its candidacy for MCC
Compact partner status. Secretary Clinton outlined USG
non-proliferation goals, and the Romulo welcomed close
coordination on the subject. Secretary Clinton outlined
USG moves to address climate change and noted that the
upcoming UN conference on climate change could lead to
the establishment of a financial mechanism for assisting
developing countries' environmental initiatives.
Secretary Clinton acknowledged Philippine progress on
counterterrorism and encouraged further steps to prevent
extrajudicial killings. Secretary Clinton and
Ambassador Marciel urged continued Philippine
cooperation to press the Burmese government to hold a
credible dialogue with the Burmese opposition and urged
Romulo to consider the merits of the Hague Convention on
the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. END
SUMMARY.

--------------
DISASTER RELIEF
--------------


5. (C) Foreign Secretary Romulo opened his bilateral
meeting with Secretary Clinton by inviting Secretary
Teodoro, who headed Philippine disaster relief efforts,
to brief on damage from storms in September and October.
Teodoro explained that the storms had affected over 1.1
million families and caused damage amounting to 38
billion Pesos (approximately 808 million USD),26
billion of which was in the form of damage to crops.
The Philippine government continued to operate 400
evacuation centers and provide air relief services to
isolated areas. Portions of the country remained
flooded, and further rains could still have a severe
impact.


6. (C) Teodoro explained that the government was
working with the UN to expand the scope of its earlier


international flash appeal for assistance and would also
establish public-private partnerships to work on
rehabilitation and reconstruction; private sector
involvement would help ensure public monies would be
well-spent. Both Teodoro and Romulo effusively thanked
the Secretary for relief assistance provided by the USG,Qith Teodoro singling out the JUSMAG-Philippines
Commander and also praising U.S. forces that had been
diverted from bilateral exercises to help flood victims.
Romulo noted that U.S. forces who had traveled from the
southern Philippines were the first to rescue people in
his flood-affected neighborhood.


7. (C) Secretary Clinton commended Secretaries Romulo
and TQro on their government's response to the
fQng and said the USG would continue to consult with
the Philippines on the challenges it would face in
reconstruction efforts. Ambassador Kenney said the USG
continued to examine how it might assist, looking
particularly at environmental and health-related
technical assistance that could supplement the role of
the private sector and multinational banks.

--------------
SOUTHERN PEACE PROCESS
--------------


8. (C) DFA Under Secretary Seguis explained progress in
the peace process with the MILF. Seguis, who chaired
the Philippine government's peace panel, cited its July
agreement to a cease-fire with the MILF, the September
agreement on a framework agreement for the formation of
an International Contact Group (ICG),and the October
agreement on mechanisms to protect civilian populations.
Seguis expected to travel to Kuala Lumpur for further
informal talks with the MILF on November 16. He hoped
those talks would allow the two sides to finalize their
list of state participants in the ICG, and that
subsequent discussions in December would include an
exchange of drafts of a comprehensive peace agreement.
The two sides were expediting their efforts with the
goal of concluding a peace agreement before the June
2010 end of President Arroyo's term.


9. (C) Secretary Clinton asked whether the MILF would
likely agree to provisions that would allow sufficient
monitoring and verification. Seguis replied that he
would need to see the MILF's draft before he could feel
confident about such issues. While having rejected
prior MILF demands for secession, the Philippine
government was willing to provide expanded autonomy to
areas currently under MILF control, but the MILF was
pushing for more concessions, such as the designation of
territorial waters and allocation of a greater share of
natural resources. Seguis explained the Philippine
government was willing to make concessions, but only
within constitutional parameters.

--------------
MILLENIUM CHALLENGE
--------------


10. (C) Executive Secretary Ermita reviewed the status
of Philippine efforts to become an MCC Compact partner.
He emphasized the Philippines had become eligible in
2008, but then, having risen in classification from a
Low Income Country (LIC) to a Lower Medium Income
Country (LMIC),it had failed by an extremely narrow
margin to meet the higher standards applied to LMICs.
Ermita urged that the Philippines be judged according to
LIC standards. The Philippine government was currently
working with an MCC team to assess projects for road
development, information systems for government revenue
collection, and the delivery of social services to poor
areas.


11. (C) Secretary Clinton welcomed the Philippines'
progress that had led to its rise to the LMIC category.
She hoped the MCC's board would decide that the


Philippines could remain Compact-eligible, especially
given that the devastation of recent storms would have a
serious negative effect on national income. Secretary
Romulo noted that the Philippine government had worked
closely with MCC personnel and found them very
supportive. He also thanked Secretary Clinton for other
U.S. assistance, including nearly 200 million USD in
benefits for Filipino veterans.

--------------
NON-PROLIFERATION
--------------


12. (C) Secretary Romulo praised the Obama
administration's leadership on non-proliferation and
said he looked forward to the Philippines chairing the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference
in May. He noted that Undersecretary Manalo was working
with the NSC Coordinator for Arms Control and Non-
Proliferation, while Ambassador Cabactulan was working
with Special Representative Burk. Romulo asked
Secretary Clinton's advice on preparations, both for the
NPT Review Conference and for the April nuclear security
summit in Washington.


13. (C) Secretary Clinton welcomed Philippine efforts
to date. It would be important to strengthen the NPT
and broaden the international non-proliferation regime,
she said. She especially hoped the Philippine
government would use its leadership to keep the NPT
Review Conference focused on global issues. Some
governments would likely try to direct the Conference's
attention toward the Middle East, and specifically on
Israel. The USG was also concerned about the Middle
East, and on the significant threats posed by Iran and,
to a lesser extent, Syria; North Korea had also been a
major proliferator of nuclear technology. But the
Conference should consider broad issues not specific to
particular countries, including the need for greater
safeguards of nuclear materials, the need to prevent
covert nuclear programs, and ways to enable countries to
become peaceful generators of nuclear power.


14. (C) Secretary Clinton emphasized that the USG stood
ready to provide the Philippine government with
technical assistance in the run-up to the Review
Conference, and the USG's top non-proliferation
officials stood ready to assist in any way necessary.

--------------
CLIMATE CHANGE
--------------


15. (C) Taking note of the upcoming United Nations
Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December,
Romulo invited Secretary Clinton to share her thoughts
on climate change, which he stressed was an important
issue for President Arroyo. Secretary Clinton explained
that the U.S. Congress continued to work on a climate
change bill, and, while this would not become law by the
time of the Conference, its progress would show the
United States' seriousness. The USG had already taken
action in the regulatory arena, limiting car and utility
emissions, and economic stimulus legislation included 89
billion USD for clean energy technology and
environmentally-helpful retrofitting projects.


16. (C) Secretary Clinton said the Copenhagen
Conference appeared likely to move not toward a legally-
binding treaty, but rather toward a framework agreement,
which could include countries voluntarily establishing
obligations under their domestic laws. Developed
countries had an interest in establishing financial
mechanisms to assist devQping countries with projects
that would benefit the environment. The USG could
provide other governments with ideas and technical
assistance to help inform their efforts. Secretary
Clinton stressed that many environmental initiatives
would provide an economic boost, rather than interfering


with economic growth.

--------------
COUNTERTERRORISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS
--------------


17. (C) Turning to counterterrorism (CT),Executive
Secretary Ermita noted that the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG),
based in the southern Philippines, had connections to Al
Qaeda and had an interest in undertaking terrorist acts
throughout the country. The Philippine government had
found ASG improvised explosive devices but had prevented
many attacks, thanks in part to provisions of the
Philippines' 2007 Human Security Act. With strong
interagency cooperation, the Philippine government had
responded successfully to terrorist threats and had
killed or captured many ASG leaders. The Philippine
government was working to upgrade the capabilities of
its lead CT unit.


18. (C) Secretary Clinton acknowledged the importance
of CT and the threat posed by the ASG and other
transnational terrorist groups. The USG wanted to
continue and deepen intelligence-sharing and military-
to-military cooperation with the Philippines. It was
important, though, that CT efforts not take on a
repressive character. The USG has been concerned with
extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, Secretary
Clinton said, acknowledging that the Philippine
government had made progress in this area, leading to a
reduction in the number of reports of abuses. She urged
that the Philippine government give special attention to
strengthening the prosecution efforts against those
accused of extrajudicial killings. She also commended
the Philippines on the successful visit to the
Philippines of an International Labour Organization
delegation in September; previous killings of Philippine
labor activists had raised concerns.

--------------
BURMA
--------------


19. (C) Highlighting the recent inauguration of an
ASEAN human rights mechanism, Secretary Clinton thanked
Secretary Romulo for the Philippines' leadership within
ASEAN, and for its support for Aung San Suu Kyi (ASSK).
The USG was adjusting its approach toward Burma in order
that democracy might be able to take hold there.
Ambassador Marciel said the Burmese government clearly
aimed to marginalize ASSK and the opposition in 2010
elections. He urged that the Philippines join in
encouraging the Burmese government to hold a meaningful
dialogue with the oppositionQWithout such a dialogue,
Ambassador Marciel said, elections in Burma would be
neither credible nor legitimate.


20. (C) Secretary Clinton said the USG would appreciate
ASEAN taking on a greater role in Burma, perhaps
observing the 2010 elections. Secretary Romulo said the
USG could count on Philippine support on Burma;
President Arroyo had been very firm on this issue.
Romulo also welcomed the USG decision not to lift
existing sanctions on Burma.

--------------
CHILD ABDUCTION
---Q -------------- Q

21. (C) Secretary Clinton raised the Hague Convention
on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Explaining the USG was a party to the Convention and had
championed it for years, Secretary Clinton stressed the
importance of resolving custody issues in the best
interest of the children. She urged that the Philippine
government consider the merits of the Convention; Romulo
said the Philippines would do so.

CLINTON