RP General to be new envoy to RI

RP General to be new envoy to RI

PHILIPPINES: President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will appoint
her outgoing military chief of staff as the next Philippine
ambassador to Indonesia, her spokesman said on Thursday.

Gen. Efren Abu "is most suited to be the ambassador to
Indonesia because he and the Indonesian President (Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono) were classmates in military school," Press Secretary
Ignacio Bunye said.

Abu, who is due to retire next week, has not publicly
commented on his prospective new post.

"I think this offer will be accepted by Gen. Abu," Bunye said.

Abu and Yudhoyono, a former army general and security
minister, were classmates at the Command and General Staff
College at Fort Leavenworth, Texas in the early 1990s.

The Philippines and Indonesia share a common sea border and
both are grappling with threats from the Indonesian-based
extremist group Jamaah Islamiyah, blamed for deadly attacks on
the resort island of Bali in 2002, a Manila commuter train in
2000 and a Philippine ferry last year. -- AP