President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo leaves Sunday (Dec. 11) for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on board Philippine
Airlines PR 001 for the 11th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
Summit Meeting on Dec. 11-14.
Accompanying her are former President Fidel V.
Ramos, who has been designated as RP eminent person for the ASEAN charter; Foreign Affairs
Secretary Alberto Romulo, Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila, Press Secretary
Ignacio R. Bunye, Philippine Ambassador-designate to Malaysia Victoriano Lecaros, and
Presidential Adviser for Mindanao and Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCO)
chairman Jesus Dureza, who is also the signing minister for the Brunei, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).
The other senior officials in the presidential
party are Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sonia Brady, RP senior economic official for
ASEAN Ramon Vicente Kabigting, and Davao Oriental Representative Corazon Malanyaon,
chairperson of the House EAGA affairs committee.
The President is expected to reiterate to her
fellow ASEAN leaders the Philippine proposal for joint cooperation against terrorism,
inter-faith dialogue, and focus on other important matters such as investments, energy
security and the use of the South China Sea as an area of cooperation. (full story)
