Obama fails to find time for Arroyo

BY WENDELL VIGILIA

PRESIDENT Arroyo on Friday failed to meet with US Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama in New York due to conflicting schedules.

But Obama phoned Arroyo to express his sympathy regarding the tragedy brought by typhoon "Frank" and his support for stronger relations with the Philippines.

Ambassador Marciano Paynor, consul general to San Francisco, California, said Arroyo was supposed to meet Obama either last Wednesday or Thursday night before she left for Washington to meet with Obama's rival, Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Sunday.

Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said Arroyo was "upbeat" and in "high spirits" after the call, even if it lasted for only a few minutes.

Dureza said Obama assured the President of his full support to the veterans' equity bill which would provide compensation to Filipino World War II veterans.

Also in New York, Arroyo formally endorsed before the UN the candidacy of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago to the International Court of Justice, saying she could be its first woman justice from Asia.

The President was accompanied by Ambassador Hilario Davide Jr., Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, and members of the official delegation.

Arroyo assured the UN that Santiago will serve "the interest of justice across the globe."

In Manila, Sen. Francis Escudero criticized Arroyo for chasing Obama while the country is reeling from the typhoon.

"There's work waiting here. She should come home now," Escudero said.

He said almost half of the President's time in the US was spent chasing after Obama, resulting in the cancellation of some meetings and events prepared for her.

"Obama can wait, not Frank's victims," Escudero, the President's wedding godson, said.

He added that Arroyo also degraded the values of Filipino women by parading herself in the US pursuing Obama and even McCain. "We need a leader who will chase the problems and find solutions," he said.

Arroyo, in an interview with CNN Thursday, said the Philippines remains politically stable despite the attempts to topple her government. She also said the country is "economically on a path to permanent growth and stability." - With Dennis Gadil