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MANILA, Philippines—This time, she will be traveling light.
Still smarting from criticism over her frequent foreign trips and the size of her entourage, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is flying to Egypt on Tuesday to speak at the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit accompanied by a lean delegation.
“I would like to assure the public that the official delegation will be very lean,” Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said Saturday over government-run radio station dzRB. He, however, did not say how many would be in the President’s party.
Only three Cabinet officials—Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, Cabinet Secretary Silvestre Bello III and Remonde—and several presidential and foreign affairs staff members are joining the trip.
The President’s critics said her foreign trips came at great cost to the government, but Malacañang justified them by saying that these netted numerous commitments of investments.
Only last month, Ms Arroyo went on a 13-day swing through Japan, Brazil, Colombia and Hong Kong.
“I know we will be criticized again, but we must understand that this is a summit of more than 100 kings and leaders,” Remonde said. “She can’t skip this because the President was personally chosen by the Egyptian president to be the spokesperson for Asean heads of state to speak for all of Asia. To be chosen as Asean’s spokesperson is an ‘honor for the President.’”
