MANILA, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines is asking for a postponement of the ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) for its pre-occupation with relief and rehabilitation in the wake of two destructive tropical cyclones.

    "Because of what we are experiencing, and we really need all hands on deck in relief and rehabilitation, that's why the president and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo are studying if we will continue hosting the NAM Ministerial Meeting in Manila. It's not really scrapped but possibly pushed back," Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said on Friday.

    Remonde said Romulo is consulting with NAM members to ask about the probability of holding the meeting at a later date "because of the priority we need to give to rehabilitation."

    He said the budget for the meeting has been reduced from 450 million pesos (9 million U.S. dollars) to 300 million pesos (6.4 million U.S. dollars) but resources are still scarce.

    He said Manila is committed to hosting the NAM meeting, slated for December, which it considers "a very high honor."

    "NAM is one of the most influential organizations in relation to the UN system and NAM's role is very important in the promotion of world peace and in the promotion of peace here in the Philippines, especially in Mindanao. It's very important, and hosting it has a very good potential in terms of attaining peace in the Philippines," he said.

    The NAM is an international organization of states that consider themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. As of 2007, it has 118 members and 17 observers.