MANILA, Philippines—Two students from Quezon City have received invitations to go to Washington and be in the front seat of history when Barack Obama, the first black president of the United States, formally lays claim to the White House on Jan. 20, 2009.
Anne Marie Liwanag and classmate Paul Michael Thomas Cruz got their invites as early as March this year to the oath-taking of the 44th US president.
They were selected by the organizers of the University Presidential Inaugural Conference (UPIC) for their outstanding achievements during the Global Young Leaders Conference (GYLC) held in June 2007 in Washington and New York, according to Emil Ong, a director at the Reedley International School in Libis, Quezon City.
The two students were Reedley high school seniors when they represented their alma mater in the GYLC. Liwanag, 18, and Cruz, 19, are now college freshmen.
According to its website, UPIC offers delegates “the opportunity to take part in and personally witness the historic event of the presidential inauguration and challenges students to greatly enhance their understanding of a presidential campaign.”
“I dropped the invitation on the table the first time I read it, and had to read it at least five times to make sure it really had my name on it,” Liwanag told the Philippine Daily Inquirer Thursday at her Parańaque City residence.
“Just the thought of being in the same room (with Obama) makes me giddy. I showed the invitation to everyone in school, and everyone got really excited,” she added.
Should she be granted an audience with Obama, Liwanag said, she would pose some tough questions for the new leader of the free world: “What was he doing when he was 18 years old and what can he do for the Philippines?”
Liwanag said she rooted for Obama in the Nov. 4 presidential election, but admitted she earlier favored New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries.
The invitation, however, is a not an all-expenses-paid affair.
Liwanag said she would have to raise around $4,000 (roughly P200,000) to cover UPIC “fees” and airfare for the trip. “I could not hide my excitement, I really want to go, but the problem is, I am still raising the funds to make it to the inaugural,” she added.
The UPIC website said “tuition” charged for its program covers the cost of events and activities, hotel accommodation for four nights, meals, and transportation during the conference, hotel tips and taxes, and group insurance.
Conference participants—also called “inaugural scholars”—are responsible for their own travel to and from the Washington DC area, it added.
Ong said the UPIC invitation was made on behalf of members of the US Congress, particularly the Honorary Congressional Board of Advisors.
“On behalf of the (UPIC), it is my great pleasure to inform you of your selection to come to Washington as an inaugural scholar and take part in this historic occasion,” UPIC Managing Director of Education Donna J. Synder said in a letter to Liwanag.
As inaugural scholars, Liwanag and Cruz will be part of a five-day series of special events and activities commemorating the inauguration of the US president and vice president, the letter said.
The students will join other invited participants at the National Mall in the morning of Jan. 20 and experience firsthand the grandeur of the inaugural parade and presidential motorcade that will take the new US leaders from the Capitol Building to the White House, the letter added.
According to their itinerary, Liwanag and Cruz would also have an opportunity to meet members of the US Congress, White House officials, presidential historians, political experts and other government personalities. The students would cap their activities by attending a black-tie inaugural gala at the White House.
