Ramos inspects Subic site for APEC
Ramos inspects Subic site for APEC
By David McDonald
SUBIC BAY, Philippines (Reuter): He inspected the bathrooms, fussed around the carpet fitters, eyed the shrubbery and checked out the golf course.
After he had poked around the Subic Bay site of this year's APEC summit, Philippine President Fidel Ramos -- playing concerned host ahead of the arrival of world leaders -- pronounced the venue "better than all the others".
Better than the facilities last year in the Japanese city of Osaka with its medieval castle, better than Bogor in Indonesia in 1994 when delegates sported hand-printed batik shirts.
"The timing and the venue and the preparations leading to Subic on Nov. 25 is like a god-scripted kind of a scenario because Nov. 24, 1992 was the very day when the U.S. navy pulled out," Ramos told a news conference at Subic Bay.
"I think what we are seeing here is a world-class, 21st century set-up"
The former U.S. naval base is now a symbol of the Philippines' economic renaissance, an industrial estate with an attached country club on jungle-clad slopes four hours drive north of Manila past an active volcano.
The new Subic is the pride of general-turned-president Ramos, who turned up on Thursday aboard his presidential helicopter for a last-minute walk around.
The facility is a case study for the kind of market-oriented policies that leaders of the 18-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum hope will turn their informal grouping into the world's largest free trade area by 2020.
Mediterranean-style stone villas with shaded balconies overlooking the bay were built specially for the leaders, including U.S. President Bill Clinton, Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and Chinese head of state Jiang Zemin.
But the VIPs will spend only fleeting moments there, showering and changing and generally freshening up for the summit. The schedules for leaders of half the world's population are too packed to allow room to linger.
Nevertheless, lawns are still being laid and gardeners are planting hibiscus bushes. When the dignitaries have gone, each of the 21 mansions will be sold off to private owners. Asking price: US$4 million, according to market rumor.
The summit itself will be held in what used to be a U.S. military officers' club, subtly redecorated to hide traces of its American heritage.
The nose of an old U.S. aircraft once jutted from an outside wall -- the cockpit was used by the disc jockey at the officers' disco. It has now been transformed into the beak of an eagle, symbol of the Philippines.
Ramos appeared ebullient, even though the carpet has yet to be laid in the summit hall, and the wooden chairs arranged in a U- shape are still bubble-wrapped.
Only the first hole of the golf course was ready for match- play, but Ramos teed off anyway. Earlier in the day, Clinton was in Australia getting ready for a round of golf with world number one Greg Norman.
In a dry-run for the big day, Ramos smiled and shook hands with aides wearing T-shirts saying "I'm a leader".
At one point he stopped at a jungle opening to watch the monkeys, who were mostly sleeping.
"This reminds me of my cabinet," he quipped.