[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 47 (Monday, November 26, 2001)]
[Pages 1694-1697]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks Following Discussions With President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of 
the Philippines and an Exchange With Reporters

November 20, 2001

    President Bush. It's my honor to welcome the President of the 
Philippines here to the Oval Office. I had the honor of not only meeting 
the President but having a great discussion with her in Shanghai, China. 
She is a highly intelligent, dedicated public servant, to not only 
better the Philippines but to work with us to make the world more 
peaceful.
    I could tell the first time I talked to her that we had a great ally 
and friend in our cause. And I look forward to having a good, long 
discussion today about how we can work together--how to work together 
more. We've been working together a lot. We've been sharing 
intelligence; we've been talking strategies.
    The United States has got a very close relationship with the 
Philippines, and I intend to keep it that way. The Philippines have been 
great allies and friends for a long period of time, and it's in our 
national interests that we maintain a very close and strong 
relationship. And so I've really been looking forward to this visit.

[[Page 1695]]

    I'm so honored for your strong support and for your able leadership. 
I want to welcome you to the Oval Office.
    President Macapagal-Arroyo. Thank you. Thank you.
    President Bush. You're welcome to say a few words, if you'd like.
    President Macapagal-Arroyo. It's my honor to be here, and the 
occasion is the 50th anniversary of our mutual defense treaty between 
our two countries. And this treaty just demonstrates how we've been 
allies for so long: allies in the Second World War, allies in the cold 
war, allies in the Korean war, allies in the Vietnam war, and now allies 
in the war against terrorism.
    We're allies, too, in the economic front. The U.S. is our number one 
trading partner; cumulatively, our number one source of investments. And 
the Filipinos who live in America are number one in income earning and 
also number one in education. They are 3 million, and 1.5 of them are 
voters--1.5 million. So I know that they are very happy about this 
partnership.
    President Bush. Thank you, Madam President.
    I'll be glad to answer a couple of questions.

White House Tours

    Q. Mr. President, why is it okay for the American public to return 
to normal and fly and travel in this country, but it is not okay for 
public tours to enter the White House?
    President Bush. Well, Laura and I regret that the public tours 
aren't going on. It's--particularly during the Christmas holiday season, 
I know a lot of Americans look forward to touring the White House during 
this period of time. But we're in extraordinary times, and as I said 
yesterday, evil knows no holiday; evil knows no--it doesn't welcome a 
Thanksgiving or Christmas season. And in these extraordinary times, 
we're taking extraordinary measures.
    It is a further reason why we must continue to wage a diligent and 
consistent fight against terror and to rid the world of terror, to make 
our country safe so that we can have tours at the White House.

Abu Sayyaf Group

    Q. Mr. President, we have advisers on the ground helping the 
Filipino Army in tracking down and getting rid of Abu Sayyaf. Are you 
prepared to go the next step, sir? Are you willing to put American 
combat troops on the ground there?
    And President Arroyo, would your Constitution allow that?
    President Bush. Well, first of all, I'm willing to listen to 
President Arroyo; I'm willing to work with her in any way that she wants 
to. We've had a discussion about Abu Sayyaf. She's got a clear vision 
about how to fight Abu Sayyaf, and I'll let her speak for herself. But 
the Philippines are a great ally. They're close friends, and we will 
cooperate in any way she suggests in getting rid of Abu Sayyaf.
    Q. Including combat troops, sir?
    President Bush. That's going to be up to the President. It's up to 
the President to make those decisions. I have asked her pointblank, what 
help does she need. She says she's got a great military, a competent 
military; she's confident that her military can deal with Abu Sayyaf. 
And for that I applaud her and will wish her all the best. And we want 
to help her military deal with them.
    Q. My question was, would your Constitution allow U.S. ground troops 
to join in an active engagement against Abu Sayyaf?
    President Macapagal-Arroyo. We would have to check that. But in any 
case, as President Bush said, we have a framework on how to fight the 
Abu Sayyaf, how to fight terrorism in the southwestern part of the 
Philippines. And the framework covers what we need in terms of 
diplomatic assistance, technical assistance, assistance in winning 
hearts and minds, and military assistance. We have advisers from the 
U.S.; we have equipment from the U.S. All of these are part of our 
mutual defense treaty.
    It just so happens that now the mutual defense treaty facilities are 
being used in the fight against terrorism. But we've had this pattern 
for many years now, and I think the pattern is going very well as it is.
    President Bush. Let me say something just in general. Your question 
points up what I have been saying, that the front against terror is not 
just in Afghanistan, that we're going to fight terror wherever it 
exists. And we will

[[Page 1696]]

work with our allies and friends to use whatever resources we have to 
win the war against terror.
    President Arroyo understands now is the time to make a stand against 
terrorist activity, whether it be in Afghanistan or in the Philippines 
or anywhere else Al Qaida exists. Because if we don't make a stand now, 
our children and grandchildren will not be able to grow up in a free 
world.
    And so we are looking for opportunities to help friends and allies 
strike Al Qaida wherever they exist. There's a lot of focus, of course, 
on Afghanistan these days, and I can understand why. But I want people 
in America to understand that, first of all, the theater in Afghanistan 
is entering a difficult period of time. We could be there for quite a 
while, which is fine because we've got an objective in mind, and we'll 
stay there until we get our objective. But there's going to be other 
fronts in this theater; there will be other places where we need to work 
to rout out Al Qaida and other terrorist organizations. And the 
President and I are going to have a good discussion, a continued 
discussion, about how we can help the Philippines.

Robert F. Kennedy Building Dedication/Education Legislation

    Q. Sir, later today you're going to the Justice Department for a 
ceremony renaming it for Mr. Kennedy.
    President Bush. Yes.
    Q.  Why now? And do you hope that you get some help with the 
education bill out of this? [Laughter]
    President Bush. Well, I'm not quite that devious. I made the 
decision to name the Justice Department building after Robert Kennedy 
because he is deserving--his memory is--and his family are such a great 
part of American history. He was a wonderful Attorney General, and I 
think it's fitting to do such. I'll get an education bill based on its 
merits, not based upon renaming a building for a great American.
    Today, interestingly enough, is Robert Kennedy's birthday. And you 
said, why today? I think it's fitting that we name the building for him 
on his birthday.
    I look forward to the event. Mrs. Kennedy will be there, as are a 
lot of the Kennedy family. Senator Kennedy will be there; I presume 
that's who you were referring to about the education bill. I think 
Senator Kennedy wants to get a bill to my desk, and I feel good that 
we'll get a bill to the desk here pretty soon.
    One from the Philippine press. Excuse me.

Philippines-U.S. Relations

    Q. Mrs. President, are you signing any agreement with President Bush 
regarding our security?
    President Macapagal-Arroyo. No, no, we're not. What we're going to 
talk about is how we can make our partnership against terrorism--both 
terrorism in the world and terrorism in southern Philippines--more 
useful, more efficient.
    Q. Could you, sir, give more--elaborate on the assistance that will 
be given to the Philippines?
    President Bush. I think the Philippine Government will make that 
announcement when the President feels comfortable making the 
announcement. There's been a lot of discussions about military items, 
discussions about trade, discussions about enhanced commerce, and we 
look forward to listening to our close friend and ally in ways that we 
can help. We've got no better friend in that part of the world than the 
Philippines.
    And as the President has said, there are a lot of proud Filipinos 
living in America. And one of the things that's going to happen after 
this meeting, she has graciously agreed to have her picture taken with 
Filipino-Americans working here in the White House. And I've got a 
confession to make--they're looking forward to having--they're more 
looking forward to having their picture taken with her than with me. 
[Laughter]

Filipino Veterans Equity Legislation

    Q. Did you ask the U.S. President to support the veterans equity 
bill?
    President Bush. The what bill?
    Q. The Filipino veterans equity bill.
    President Bush. Oh, the veterans security. She did bring up the 
issue. And she strongly brought it up, and she was an advocate for the 
Filipino veterans bill, which has been an issue around here for a long 
period of time.

[[Page 1697]]

    Q. [Inaudible]
    President Bush. Good question. I hope by December 1st.

Note: The President spoke at 1:25 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to the Abu Sayyaf Group, Muslim 
separatists operating in the southern Philippines.