President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo returned early this morning from Hawaii
at the end of a successful nine-day working visit to Europe, Cuba and Hawaii to promote
the country’s economic, security and diplomatic ties with its allies in the global
community.
The chartered Philippine Air Lines (PAL) flight
PR001 bearing the President and her small party of government officials touched down at
the tarmac of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 in Pasay City at exactly
3:57 a.m.
She was accorded welcome honors at the foyer of
the NAIA Terminal. Among her welcomers were Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and Justice
Secretary Raul Gonzalez.
The President left last Sept. 9 for Helsinki,
Finland on the first leg of her trip abroad to attend the 6th Asia-Europe
Meeting (ASEM 6).
The ASEM is an informal process of dialogue and
cooperation among 39 countries comprising the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) plus Japan, China and South Korea, and the 25-nation European Union.
The 10 ASEAN member states are Brunei Darussalam,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam. (full story)
