Press Release
15 August 2006
SENATE EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR UN RESOLUTION CALLING FOR END OF LEBANON WAR
The Senate yesterday unanimously approved Senate Resolution No. 540 expressing support for the United Nations Resolution which called for an end to the war in Lebanon.
The Resolution was authored by Senate Minority Floor Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago.
On 11 August 2006, the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1701, which calls for full cessation by Hezbollah of all attacks against Israel, for immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operations against Lebanon, and for withdrawal of all Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.
The UN Resolution took effect yesterday, at 1:00 p.m. Manila time.
According to Santiago, the Senate Resolution is in line with the Constitutional provision declaring that “the Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land, and adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations.”
In the Senate Resolution, senators also called on all parties involved to disarm all armed groups in Lebanon; for states to take necessary measures to prevent the sale or supply of arms to any entity or individual in Lebanon; and for states to consider making appropriate contributions to the UN Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has reportedly also expressed her support for the UN Resolution. However, she has issued directives to continue implementing her August 2 order for the mandatory evacuation of all OFWs in Lebanon, for lack of assurance that the ceasefire will be strictly observed by the warring camps.
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