ICAPP Update (10-36)

Dear Members of the Standing Committee,

The following is a report, dated Oct. 22, 2010, from Hon. Jose de Venecia, Jr., Founding Chairman and Co-Chairman of the Standing Committee, on the results of his recent trips to Central America and Southeast Asia.

"Dear Excellency and friends,

I just returned today from non-stop trips to San Savador, Central America with Co-Chairman Chung and my wife, Congresswoman Gina de Venecia, and thence to Panama and LA, and immediately after to Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, this time with Senator Mushahid. These visits and the speeches we delivered related to ICAPP and Asia and the four-in-one Cambodia Conference were well appreciated.

1. I believe Co-Chairman Chung has already reported on the San Salvador meeting including the 4-point agenda we proposed and developed for the ICAPP-COPPAL meeting in Phnom Penh.

2. In Panama, COPPAL Chairman Cafiero and his assistant Dolores Gandulfo arranged for our visit to the Panama Canal Zone under the auspices of the recently retired popular President Martin Torrijos, a board member of COPPAL. He and his wife, a possible candidate for mayor of Panama City, will also attend the ICAPP-COPPAL and CDI-Asia Pacific meeting in Cambodia. His lady and my wife Gina will attend the ICAPP Women?占퐏 Conference. President Torrijos will be accompanied by his Advisor Juan Felipe Pitty, former Panama Ambassador to Manila, and his lady. I will be sending them their invitations in our joint names, c/o their COPPAL party.

3. U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, of Hawaii, the most senior in the U.S. Senate, expressed interest to address the ICAPP Assembly. He is an Asian-born, perhaps the most powerful Senator as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee; I will also forward to him an invitation in our names.

4. I invited the prestigious Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC), whose Chair is Dr. Naser J. Al-Sane, a senior Kuwaiti official. GOPAC works closely with the United Nations. GOPAC?占퐏 Chief of Staff is Ms. Nola Juraitis, who is Secretary to the GOPAC Task Forces on Parliamentary Oversight and the U.N.?占퐏 UNCAC. Direct Tel. 1-613-233-0818; e-mail : nolajur@sympatico.ca . Dr. Al-Sane has become a close friend and accepted our invitation to deliver a speech in Phnom Penh. He will travel alone or with Ms. Nola Juraitis. I am sending their invitations in our names. Dr. Al-Sane can help ICAPP?占퐏 battle against corruption and will be a well-renown partner to ICAPP.

5. I had a good conversation with H.E. Malaysian Premier Najuid Tun Razak, whom I sat with at lunch, and reiterated the invitation of Premier Hun Sen and Deputy Premier Sok An . He said ?占폹arring an emergency, I will definitely be there.??I must say Senator Mushahid and I delivered strong speeches for ICAPP and Asia at the well-attended UMNO anniversary. The Malaysian Chinese Association President Dr. Chua will attend the Cambodia Conference of ICAPP, CDI-Asia Pacific, and IESCO. The MCA is the second largest in Malaysia, in alliance with UMNO.

6. I had a most fruitful visit to Jakarta where I addressed the Nahdlatul Wama, the religious organization of 60-million members of the late President Gus Dur Wahid at the Bung Karno Stadium. They will attend our future Inter-Faith Dialogues. I also conferred with former Speaker Agung Laksono, who is now Senior Coordinating Minister, on top of seven ministries, who has agreed to join ICAPP and CDI Asia Pacific, perhaps to replace former Indonesian Vice-President Yusuf Kalla in our organization. I talked to Kalla who is now in Palestine, on invitation of the government there for his success in the completed peace agreement between Christians and Muslims in Aceh, Indonesia. Aside from being one of Indonesia?占퐏 successful business leaders, he is now President of the Indonesian Red Cross, I also met with our former Congressman Theo Zambuaga, Standing Committee member of ICAPP, who, with Laksono are now the full-time Vice-Chairmen of Golkar. Both are attending Phnom Penh.

7. The great news out of Jakarta is that Golkar?占퐏 National Treasurer Erwin Aksa, who is nephew of Yusuf Kalla and President of the 200,000 strong Association of Young Indonesian Business Entrepreneurs, with our CDI Asia-Pacific coordinator Yasril Anata, agreed and announced to us that he and his group will sponsor and finance the ICAPP 11th Anniversary in Indonesia in November or December next year.

8. Four of our six Philippine political parties are definitely attending the Cambodia meeting. There are two smaller parties who comply with the requirements who also like to attend.
I will report to you in greater detail soon. Warm regards.

Sincerely,

Jose de Venecia"

With best regards,

Chung Eui-yong
Secretary General
ICAPP Secretariat
Seoul, Korea
October 25, 2010