Aquino leaves for state visit to Vietnam
President Benigno S. Aquino III left for Vietnam for his first state visit to a member country of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to attend the 17th ASEAN summit.
The President boarded Philippine Airlines flight PR591 which left at exactly 7:20 a.m. bound for Hanoi, Vietnam where he is scheduled to meet with other heads of state and government.
President Aquino was accompanied by a lean, 52-man delegation, which include Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, Presidential Management Staff Chief Julia Abad, Commission on Higher Education Chairperson Patricia Licuanan, Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ramon Carandang and Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo of the Philippine Coast Guard, among others.
The group was sent off by other government officials led by Vice President Jejomar Binay, Executive Secretary Paquito “Jojo” Ochoa Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Lt. General Ricardo David, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief, Director General Raul Bacalzo and other cabinet members.
The Chief Executive said that part of his duties as president is to maintain and enhance relations with other countries, particularly with the neighboring countries in the ASEAN region.
“With this in mind, I look forward to meeting with President Nguyen Minh Triet, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, and Secretary General Nong Duc Manh of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee to discuss ways to better improve our already dynamic bilateral relations”, the President said.
Vietnam has been a strategic partner of the country for the past 34 years. The bilateral ties between the two nations was established in 1976 and has consistently grown to encompass not just politics, but more importantly, trade and investments, education, defense, fisheries, maritime and ocean affairs, and environmental concerns, among other.
“My visit reinforces the Philippines’ recognition of Vietnam’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2010. It will also affirm the complex and diverse ties that bind the Philippines with Vietnam”, noted President Aquino.
During the visit, the Chief Executive is expected to witness the signing of four agreements, which will further enhance relations in higher education, defense and maritime affairs of both countries.
Apart from some members of the 3,500 Filipinos working and residing in Vietnam, President Aquino will also be meeting with Filipino and Vietnamese businessmen to encourage them to invest more in the country.
“As I did in my recent visit to the United States, I intend to send the message loud and clear to our friends overseas that the Philippines is once again open for business, as a responsible and dynamic member f the community of nations”, noted the President.
The two-day state visit (Oct. 26-27) was upon the invitation of President Nguyen Minh Triet during their meeting last month in New York at the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
After the state visit, the President will also attend the 17th ASEAN Summit and Related meetings from Oct. 28 to 30 where he is expected to push for the Philippines’ interests in five key areas – economic cooperation, political and security cooperation, food and energy security, human rights and disaster management.
The President is scheduled to return to Manila on Sunday, October 31. (PCOO)
Aquino declares Oct. 27 as Special Non-Working Holiday
President Benigno Aquino III has declared Wednesday, October 27 as a Special Non-Working Holiday in some areas where the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections did not push through.
In an interview on Tuesday, Executive Secretary Paquito “Jojo” Ochoa Jr. said the President issued the declaration upon the request of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to ensure that scheduled barangay elections will materialize.
“In effect we are acceding to the request of the Comelec that for those areas where elections were not held yesterday, tomorrow nila itutuloy”, said Ochoa.
Ochoa said that they will release a copy of the list of municipalities where the proclamation will take effect.
It will be recalled that elections were deferred in some parts of the country due to the late delivery of election paraphernalia.
The President expressed dismay over the conduct of the barangay elections saying that the Comelec should have been more prepared to ensure the smooth flow of the electoral process. (PCOO)
Five-day Vietnam trip to cost taxpayers P11.3 million
Malacañang is spending around P11.3 million for President Benigno Aquino III’s five-day trip to Vietnam for the 17th Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) Summit, according to Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr.
The amount covers the expenses for the 52-man delegation accompanying the President on his second foreign trip since he became President last June. This includes accommodations, transportation, food and the cost of commercial airfares.
“The President is being consistently prudent when it comes to his trips. He insisted on cutting the support staff to minimum and paring down expenses so that taxpayers’ money is wisely spent,” Ochoa said.
Ochoa added that the President’s trip to the United States last month reinforced the Chief Executive’s views that huge delegations were unnecessary and wasteful.
“If the first foreign trip taught us anything, it is that it is possible to limit the delegation size and keep costs down and still meet the objectives of the trip,” Ochoa explained. “Last month the President brought home US$2.4 billion worth of investments and more than 40,000 new jobs and still achieved those results with a lean staff.”
“At the end of the day, it’s not about how big the delegation is; what matters is who’s leading them,” Ochoa said.
This time five Cabinet officials are accompanying the President in Vietnam. They are Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima, Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo, Foreign Secretary Alberto G. Romulo, Presidential Management Staff Chief Julia R. Abad and Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning head Ramon A. Carandang.
Prior to the gathering of the ASEAN heads of states and governments from October 28 to 30, the President is scheduled to meet with Vietnam President Nguyen Minh Triet during the state visit on October 26 and 27. (PCOO)
Aquino hopes for renewed sharing of ideas, experiences with Vietnam
HANOI: President Benigno S. Aquino III expressed hope Tuesday that his state visit to Vietnam will bring about renewed sharing of ideas and experiences between the two countries that would translate to ways and means on how to alleviate the Philippines own problems.
In a press conference upon his arrival at the Grand Plaza Hotel here this afternoon, the President marveled at the full utilization of Vietnam land which has made it a large exporter of rice and other staples.
“We have common problems. They are one of our closest neighbors (since) it’s just about a two-hour flight (between our countries), that would be the same time to travel from Manila to Davao so there are areas that overlap especially on global climate change,” the President said.
“But more importantly, their agricultural production really seems to be something worth emulating. There’s a dearth of areas that are left vacant. Everything’s abundant. The water systems seem to be really good,” he added.
The President said that from his plane, every square inch of land “seems to be a well-thought out plan for full utilization but at the same time it is not crowded, it doesn’t seem haphazard or unplanned.”
“All of those things, we hope to have closer ties with them (Vietnam), share the knowledge, experience and perhaps solve some of our own problems,” he said.
Vietnam has been a strategic partner of the country for the past 34 years. The bilateral ties between the two nations was established in 1976 and has consistently grown to encompass not just politics, but more importantly, trade and investments, education, defense, fisheries, maritime and ocean affairs, and environmental concerns, among other. (PCOO)
Aquino reiterates call for more formalized plan on Spratlys dispute
HANOI – President Benigno S. Aquino III said Tuesday he will call for a “more formalized plan” in dealing with the contested Spratlys Islands during his speech at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit beginning on Thursday (Oct. 28).
In a press conference upon his arrival at the Grand Plaza Hotel here this afternoon, the President said he would reiterate the call in his speech addressing members of the 10-member countries of ASEAN which is commemorating its 17th Summit this year.
“(We will) reiterate the call for a code of conduct and an even more formalized plan towards exploiting it (Spartlys Islands) perhaps on a cooperative basis,” the President said.
“It (the call) will be part of one of my speeches,” he added.
The controversial Spratly Islands are made up of more than 100 reefs, islets and islands in the South China Sea between the Philippines and Vietnam.
The island group, which occupies less than five square kilometers and spreads over more than 400,000 square kilometers of sea, is being disputed by Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and the Philippines. (PCOO)
Ochoa: IPO augurs well for capital markets and tourism
Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. on Tuesday said the initial public offering (IPO) by a budget airline was a welcome development that would further boost the capital markets and lift the tourism sector.
Ochoa made the statement after he attended the initial listing of Cebu Air Inc., which operates Cebu Pacific Air.
“We believe that the Cebu Pacific IPO will further boost capital markets that are already bullish as a result of investor confidence in the Aquino government,” the Executive Secretary said.
Analysts have pointed out that an IPO of this size would only be tenable in a bullish market, which has characterized the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) the past few weeks.
The PSEi has gained 39 percent since the start of the year and is among Asia’s best performers to date. It has hit record highs under the Aquino Administration, which has won over investors with its pledge to provide a level playing field for businessmen and a graft-free government.
According to Dutch financial giant ING’s quarterly Investor Dashboard Survey, investor confidence in the Philippines remained at a record high in the third quarter of 2010.
Ochoa added that the country’s tourism industry would also benefit from the expansion plans of Cebu Pacific, as proceeds from the IPO would be tapped to purchase Airbus A320 aircraft over the next seven years.
“This will also give our tourism sector a shot in the arm as the capital Cebu Pacific will raise from the IPO will allow them to expand its fleet and service more passengers and routes,” he said. (PCOO)
