Aquino receives honorary degree from Fordham University
NEW YORK CITY: President Benigno S. Aquino III will receive a degree of Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa, from Fordham University during his official visit to the United States of America this week.
President Aquino, together with the Philippine delegation, is set to leave Manila on Sunday night for an official visit to the United States upon the invitation of US President Barack Obama from September 18 to 21.
He is expected to arrive at 8 p.m. Sunday at San Francisco airport. He and members of his delegation will be welcomed by Consul General Marciano Paynor Jr., Philippine Consulate General, San Francisco.
From San Francisco, the President will take a private jet to New York at around 9 p.m. and is expected to arrive at Teterboro airport in New York at around 5:45 a.m., Monday.
He will be welcomed by Ambassador Libran Cabactulan, Philippine permanent representative to the United Nations in New York, and Consul General Mario De Leon Jr., Philippine Consulate General in New York.
President Aquino will start his activity on Monday by attending the conferment rites at 1 p.m. given to him by Fordham, an independent university in the Jesuit tradition that was founded in 1841.
The President will be conferred Doctor of Laws degree, Honoris Causa, by Fordham University during a ceremony at the Keating Hall in the school’s Rose Hill campus in Bronx, New York.
It will be witnessed by Filipino and Filipino-American students, Fordham’s faculty, alumni and staff, Filipino community members, Filipino staff members in the United Nations, and Filipinos and Fil-Ams in the academe, business, media and civil society organizations.
Prior the conferment ceremony, President Aquino will be escorted to the building step named after his mother, the late President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, who also received an honorary degree from Fordham in September 1986.
As part of Fordham tradition, the names of over 30 world leaders conferred honorary doctorate degree are carved on the steps of the “Terrace of the Presidents” at Keating Hall.
The President’s name will be carved next to that of his mother, the late President Aquino.
After the conferment ceremony, President Aquino will have a series of business meetings, first with Convergys at Berkshires Hotel and to be followed by Fiesta Equities Corp. and Ami Vita Coco.
On the same day, the President will have a roundtable meeting with high level business executives belonging to the US-Asean Business Council, the US Chamber of Commerce, and the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce.
The US-Asean Business Council is the trusted voice of the US private sector in the 10-country Asean market while the US Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses.
The Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce Inc., on the other hand, is one of the oldest bilateral chambers in the United States. It was founded in 1920 by Dr. H. Parker Willis, editor of the Journal of Commerce. (PCOO)
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Government sets aside P24.8-M for President Aquino's officials visit to US, says
Executive Secretary Ochoa An estimated P24.8 million will be spent by the government for President Benigno Aquino III’s five-day official visit to the United States, where he will deliver a keynote speech at the official launch of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) on Sept. 20, Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. said on Sunday.
The President is scheduled to leave Sunday evening via a commercial flight to San Francisco, along with a delegation that will include Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman, Transportation and Communication Secretary Manuel Roxas II, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Secretary Ramon Carandang, and Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco, Jr.
President Aquino was invited by US President Barack Obama and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to the official launch of the OGP in New york, a new multilateral initiative to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
Presidents Obama and Rousseff co-chair the initiative with the theme “The Power of Open: A Global Discussion.”
The Philippines is one of eight countries, and one of only two from Asia, that comprise the Steering Committee of OGP. The other seven countries are the US, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway and South Africa.
Steering Committee members are selected based on the following criteria: fiscal transparency, access to information, disclosures related to elected officials and citizen engagement.
“President Aquino's participation in the event and the selection of our country as a member of the Steering Committee reflects the international community’s recognition of the President’s commitment to open governance and anti-corruption programs and practices,” Ochoa said.
“Such programs are so important to the President that he himself chairs the Cabinet Cluster on Good Governance, which oversees and spearheads these initiatives,” Ochoa stressed.
The P24.8-million budget covers expenses for hotel accommodations, food, transportation, telecommunications and equipment requirements, among others, during the official visit.
The Chief Executive’s first stop is San Francisco for a short layover before going to New York, where he will also be conferred a Doctor of Laws degree, honoris causa at Fordham University.
President Aquino will also meet high-level business executives belonging to the US-ASEAN Business Council, the US Chamber of Commerce and the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce, and speak before the IBM Centennial Forum, “Think: A Forum on the Future of Leadership,” for the computer giant’s 100th anniversary.
After New York, the President will fly to Washington D.C. to deliver a public lecture during the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings with an audience composed of finance ministers, central bank officials and country representatives. His lecture will discuss the roles of citizen empowerment, good governance and anti-corruption initiatives as agents of poverty reduction.
The President will also meet with the Filipino communities in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia, an area where approximately 110,000 Filipinos live. He will return to the country on Sept. 23. (PCOO)
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Aquino to keynote Asia Society meet in New York NEW YORK (via PLDT) -- President
Benigno S. Aquino III will be the guest of honor and keynote speaker at the Asia Society, a leading global and pan-Asian organization working to strengthen relationships and promote understanding among the people, leaders, and institutions of the United States and Asia, during his visit here Tuesday (September 20).
Citing the importance of the Philippines as an ally in Asia and the world, Asia Society Executive Vice President Jaime Metzel said the group invited the President to “celebrate” the Chief Executive’s successful bid to end corruption in the Philippines once and for all.
The Philippines is a critically important country both in Asia and in the world. And we always feel that it is important to raise the profile of the Philippines. And at the same time, the Philippines has had a lot of problems and President Aquino has done a great job in his first year in office in beginning to address them and we would like to celebrate the great start that President Aquino has made (to end corruption),” Metzl said.
He lauded the President’s “forceful” campaign to address corruption which he said is the “scourge of the Philippines” but noted that this fight would require a concerted and “sustained effort.”
“As everybody knows, corruption is the scourge of the Philippines. The Philippines has the most talented population maybe in the world but so many Filipinos are helping build other countries and Philippines has become a country that exist largely on remittances and so the first steps that needs to be taken to address the problems in the Philippines is to address corruption,” Metzl said.
“And President Aquino has raised these issues very forcefully but the system has many elements of corruption and so it’s going to require sustained effort overtime and I believe that President Aquino has made a great start in that process but it will need to be an ongoing process,” he added.
The President’s visit to the Asia Society is just one of numerous engagements the President has lined up during his visit to the United States from September 18 to 21.
The President will visit New York City and Washington D.C. to meet with business leaders and join US President Barack Obama in launching the Open Government Policy, a new multilateral initiative to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
While in New York, President Aquino will also speak before the IBM Centennial Forum called “THINK: A Forum on the Future of Leadership” on September 20. The forum will be attended by more than 700 leaders from government, business, the academe and science, and up-and-coming leaders worldwide.
President Aquino will likewise be conferred a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, by Fordham University in ceremonies to be held at Keating Hall in the school’s Rosa Hill campus in New York.
Fordham, an independent university in the Jesuit tradition founded in 1841, had also conferred an honorary degree on President Corazon Aquino in September 1986.
As part of the Fordham tradition, the names of over 30world leaders conferred a degree are carved on the steps of the “Terrace of the Presidents” at Keating Hall. President Aquino’s name will be carved next to that of his mother.
While in New York, the President will also have business meetings with IBM and Convergys, both of which already have a substantial presence in the Philippines.
In Washington, D.C., President Aquino is invited by World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick to give a public lecture before the World Bank.
He will also meet with Senator Daniel Inouye, president protempore of the US Senate and chairman of its Appropriations Committee, to thank the senator for his continued support for Philippine causes in the US Congress.
Senator Inouye was responsible for the passage of Filipino Veterans Compensation Fund and the primary sponsor of the SAVE Act, which will benefit both the Philippine garment industry and the US textile manufacturers.
He will also be meeting with the Filipino community in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia “to appraise them about the government’s accomplishments and share the latest developments in the country.”
According to the DFA, it would be the first meeting of President Aquino with the Filipino community in the region, composed approximately of 110, 000 Filipinos. (PCOO)
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Aquino meets Miss Universe third runner-up Bb. Pilipinas Shamcey Supsup
Bb. Pilipinas Shamcey Supsup, the third runner up for the 2011 Miss Universe beauty pageant paid a courtesy call on President Benigno Aquino III Sunday evening at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Centennial Terminal 2, just before the chief executive embarked on a four-day trip to the United States.
The President and Ms Supsup had a photo opportunity at the Presidential lounge of the NAIA Terminal 2 an hour before the President’s scheduled departure for the United States. Ms Supsup arrived in Manila around 6:30 Sunday morning from Los Angeles, California.
Upon arrival, Supsup had a brief press conference at the Terminal 2 VIP lounge where she thanked all her supporters particularly those who helped her through the social media.
Aside from being the third runner up during the pageant, Supsup also ranked first among the fans in the vote for the top five candidates and second in the swimsuit and evening gown competitions.
This year’s winner of the Miss Universe beauty pageant is Leila Lopes from Angola, beating 88 other competitors to win the title during the 60th anniversary of the widely popular pageant of world beauties.
Bb. Pilipinas Shamcey Supsup will join a parade in Makati City Monday where she is expected to visit her high school alma mater, Makati High School. Similar celebrations will also be held in Cainta, Rizal, General Santos City, UP Diliman, and the Araneta Center. (PCOO)
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Aquino says US trip will showcase Philippine transformation, its readiness for business
The invitation of the United States and Brazil for the Philippines to join the launch of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in New York is an opportunity for the Philippines to show to the world its significant transformation, President Benigno Aquino III said in his departure speech Sunday evening.
“Patunay lamang po ito sa pataas nang pataas na pagtingin sa atin ng ibang mga bansa. Sa pagbisita nating ito maipapahayag natin sa buong mundo ang ating tinatamasang sigla at kumpiyansa ng Pilipinas tungo sa pag-ginhawa ng mga Pilipino,” the President said in his message at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Centennial Terminal 2 just before he left for the US.
The President said that during his attendance of the OGP launching, he will share the country’s experiences in governance, adding that honest and good leadership has resulted to better economic conditions for the country.
“Taas-noo nating ihahayag ang katuparan ng ating paninindigan sa pagsugpo ng katiwalian para maiibsan ang kahirapan. Tiwala po tayo na sa pagpunta natin sa Amerika, gaya ng una nating pagbisita, marami tayong maiuuwing good news sa ating mga kababayan,” he said.
In joining the event, the President said the world’s confidence towards the Philippines will increase even more because of its ability to work with other members of the international community in many areas.
At the same time, President Aquino said he would seize the opportunity during his four-day visit to talk to American businessmen to put their investments in the Philippines.
“Muli’t muli po nating ihahayag sa kanila na bukas at maaliwalas na ang ating bansa sa larangan ng pagnenegosyo. Sa malinis na pamamalakad ng kasalukuyang gobyerno, patas ang magiging laban sa mga itatayo nilang negosyo,” the President said.
The more investment coming to the Philippines, the more jobs generated for the Filipinos, the President said.
The President also mentioned his planned meeting with the Filipino community in Washington DC during the trip, which he said is aimed at thanking Filipino workers for their sacrifices for the benefit of their families and their country.
The country has started to reap the fruits of good government and every Filipino would continue to enjoy the much improved economy of the Philippines, the chief executive said.
“Hindi magbabago ang ating paninindigan at nakahanda tayong ipagsigawan sa mundo na marangal, tapat at may disiplina ang mga Pilipino. Handa tayong makipagsabayan sa anumang larangan at makipag-bayanihan sa ibang bayan,” hesaid.
The President will be on a working visit in the United States from September 18 to 23, particularly in New York and Washington
President Aquino was invited by US President Barack Obama and Brazilian Dilma Rousseff to the official launch of the OGP in New York on September 20. The OGP is a new multilateral initiative to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. Presidents Obama and Rousseff are the co-chairs of the initiative.
The Philippines is one of eight countries, and one of only two from Asia, that are members of the Steering Committee of OGP. The other seven countries are: the US, Brazil, UK, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway and South Africa. (PCOO)
