Incoming House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair "A Good Friend of the Philippines"
6 March 2008 – The
incoming Chairman of the influential Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
US House of Representatives today told Ambassador Willy C. Gaa that the
Philippines can consider him a “good friend”.
Representative Howard Berman (D, 28th Dist-CA) made this statement
during the call of Ambassador Gaa on him at his Congressional office
today. Representative Berman will be taking over the Foreign Affairs
Committee in place of Representative Tom Lantos who passed away last
month of cancer of the esophagus.
“I had a very good meeting today with Chairman Berman. He is a strong
supporter of RP-US relations and is also a strong supporter of our
nation’s democracy. I look forward to working with Chairman Berman and
his staff,” Ambassador Gaa said after his call on the congressman.
Chairman Berman and Ambassador Gaa discussed RP-US relations in general
and both agreed that these relations have deep historical roots and
should continue to be nurtured.
“We discussed the great progress that the Philippines has been making,
with the support of the United States, in fighting terrorism in Mindanao
and in bringing growth and progress to the Southern Philippines,”
Ambassador Gaa said.
“I emphasized to Chairman Berman that the bulk of the assistance funds
given by the US Congress goes to the great and meaningful work of saving
lives and bringing fresh hopes to the people of Mindanao,” Ambassador
Gaa explained.
Ambassador Gaa said that Chairman Berman remains a strong supporter of
equity for Filipino World War II veterans.
“Chairman Berman has consistently co-sponsored the equity bills for
Filipino World War II veterans. He agreed to continue to call on his
colleagues in the House to support this. He also said that he will
discuss this with the House leadership to see how best to move the
equity bill forward,” Ambassador Gaa added. END.