| PGMA sets 10-day visit to U.S. |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo leaves Saturday evening for
a 10-day visit to the United States to further strengthen the historic
Philippines-US relations. The President, accompanied by First Gentleman Miguel Arroyo, will take a commercial flight to San Francisco, California, the first stop of her US visit. Also with the presidential party are some Cabinet officials, lawmakers and top Filipino business leaders. The Chief Executive’s US engagements include meetings with Filipino communities, Filipino World War II veterans and American business groups. She will also hold a series of meetings on a wide range of issues including the environment, security, human rights, and other global concerns. From San Francisco, the President will proceed to Fresno, California, a four-hour drive from San Francisco, to hear mass and interact with the Filipino community before proceeding to Washington D.C. Meeting members of Filipino communities in the countries that she visits is a standard feature of the President’s trips abroad in an effort to keep them posted on developments back home and to encourage them to invest in the country, as well as thank them for their remittances that had helped improve the economy. The President’s second stop is Washington D.C. where she will meet with President George W. Bush at the Oval Office. The White House meeting, the highlight of her US trip, will focus on outstanding global issues of common concern to the two countries, notably terrorism, food security, non-proliferation of nuclear arms and human rights. The President is expected to thank Bush for his support to Filipino World War II veterans through the US Veterans Office in Manila and the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City, and express her hope for a favorable resolution of the remaining issues relating to Filipino veterans. The President will also personally thank the US Senate for its historic 96-1 vote in favor of the Veterans Benefits Bill calling for additional benefits to Filipino WWII veterans. At the Pentagon, the President will discuss with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates the Philippines’ defense reform program. The President will also take the opportunity to meet with the Philippines-US Friendship Caucus, a group composed of members of the US House of Representatives who have openly supported moves to strengthen relations between the Philippines and the United States. The President will also meet with officials of the Washington-based the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). Last March, the MCC granted the Philippines Compact Eligible status, opening the door for the Philippines to avail itself of up to $700 million in grants to help boost the country’s economic growth. The Philippines has gained compact eligible status after passing objective indicators in the areas of governing justly, investing in its citizens, and encouraging economic freedom. Also in Washington, the President will meet with stakeholders of the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) a multi-nation effort to push the CTI project spanning across Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. The Triangle holds the richest concentration of iridescent corals, fish, crustaceans, mollusks and marine plants in the world. The ASEAN-US Business Council (USBC) and the United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) will co-host a dinner in honor of the President in Washington. In New York, the last leg of her US trip, the President will be meeting with a number of business leaders and investment groups, including Libby’s Fruits, Target Sourcing, ROTEC Technology and APAC Customer Services. She will also host a reception for the permanent representatives to the United Nations in connection with the candidature of Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). |
| Filipinos in Fresno to join PGMA in special mass |
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SAN FRANCISCO, California--Filipino-Americans here will
finally get a chance to meet President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Sunday
morning (California time) when the Chief Executive joins them in a special
mass. The President is due to arrive here at about 10 p.m. on the first leg of her 10-day, three-state visit to the United States. Her working visit to the most powerful nation in the world, a staunch Philippines ally, is aimed at further strengthening the longstanding historic relations between the two countries. The President will stay overnight in this city before proceeding to Fresno, home to some 6,000 Filipino-Americans, according to the 2000 US census. She is expected to deliver a statement to her kababayans and thank them for their remittances, for helping grow the Philippine economy and keeping themselves abreast with the latest news back home. After the mass, the President will fly to Washington, the second leg of her US visit, for a meeting with President George W. Bush. The President is expected, as she always does whenever she travels abroad, to interact with Filipino workers and professionals from Fresno and nearby areas. Based on a US census, Filipinos belong to the upper economic tier among ethnic groups in California. A significant portion of the Filipino community is gainfully employed in both white-collar and blue-collar jobs. Filipinos in California are engaged in such professions as doctors, nurses, engineers, accountants, teachers, information technology experts of among others. Some are engaged in the service industry, while the number of them own businesses such as nursing homes, restaurants and entertainment. Fresno is a four-hour drive away from San Francisco by bus. |
