Arroyo, do some final checkup for the 12th ASEAN Summit.

PRESIDENT Arroyo, the host of two Asian regional summits this weekend, called on her counterparts yesterday to make the region a safer and more open community, as it grapples with terrorism and poverty.

Shortly after her statement, however, two bomb blasts killed a half dozen people and injured dozens more in the country’s strife-ridden south.

The blasts came as Asia’s foreign and economic ministers started arriving in Cebu ahead of their leaders, who are expected to endorse a landmark counter-terrorism convention and speed up the process of economic integration.

The summits—first for Southeast Asia and then for a broader Asian group—will go on this weekend despite the bombings, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said.

“I have been told by our security people that everything is safe and secure here in the Asean and East Asia summits and therefore the show will go on,” Romulo told reporters last night.

Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei is expected to arrive at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport today, as well as the prime ministers of Malaysia, Laos and Myanmar.

Trade talks

The scheduled opening ceremony will push through tomorrow to kick off the event at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC), where preparations are being wrapped up.

The exhibits of more than 40 towns were already on display alongside that of Duty-Free Philippines, the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation and other provinces to showcase Philippine products and sights.

Yesterday’s meeting of senior economic officials saw discussions on what could be “a cornerstone” of President Arroyo’s chairmanship of the Asean: a leaders’ call for the resumption of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Development Round of talks.

The talks began with ministerial-level meetings in 2001 but were stalled as of last year because of disagreements between the European Union and the United States.

Jose Antonio Buenca-mino, one of the Philippines’ senior economic officials, considered yesterday morning’s development a “big breakthrough.”

In their meeting at the CICC, all parties already accepted the draft Asean statement on the WTO.

“We will try to tell members of WTO who are no longer talking not to turn your back on each other... Sticking to their (conflicting) positions is better than not talking to each other,” said Director Ramon Kabigting, one of the Philippines’ senior economic official at the meeting.

Nurses’ pact

The draft position paper will be one of the documents to be signed by Asean heads of states and governments between Jan. 12 and 15.

In a meeting in Kuala Lumpur last year, Asean economic ministers already expressed “deep concern and disappointment” on the suspension of the Doha negotiations.

The economic ministers feel that the Doha negotiation is “critical” to the economic growth of the Asean members. The success of the negotiations will benefit developing countries by ensuring market access through a reduction of tariffs and trade barriers.

Meanwhile, the coun-try’s effort to push for an agreement that will benefit nurses is still being hammered out.

Asean spokesman Victo-riano Lecaros said there are discussions on whether the benefits will be extended to the families of the migrant workers.

A legally binding Convention on Counter-terrorism being readied for the summit urges the heads of Asean and its dialogue partners to improve cross-border cooperation to prevent attacks, share intelligence and training, curb terror financing and rehabilitate convicted terrorists to prevent repeat attacks.

Energy pact

The summit is also expected to endorse energy security goals for the region to reduce its dependency on oil imports, as well as discuss recommendations for the radical changes in a long-overdue Asean charter.

Changes may include an easing of a fundamental Asean policy—which forbids member-countries from interfering in each other’s domestic affairs—to allow sanctions when members fail to comply with the group’s edicts.

In her statement earlier in the day, President Arroyo said “great stakes are involved in the continuing integration of the entire East Asia” region.

Nations want to “close ranks for a safer and more secure community” that promotes more open and equitable trade, energy cooperation and overall prosperity, she said.

The summit of the 10-member Asean and their dialogue partners from Australia, China, Japan, India, South Korea and New Zealand “will be another golden opportunity to carve out new directions of development across borders, fighting poverty and building coalitions of technology,” Arroyo said.