President Benigno Aquino III, left, sits with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in her office at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia Wednesday. AP
SYDNEY, Australia—An upset stomach nearly derailed President Benigno Aquino’s diplomatic offensive in Australia aimed at gaining trade concessions for the Philippines from an economic and military power in the Asia-Pacific region.
Officials traveling with Aquino said Thursday he suffered from an upset stomach, forcing him to cut short his attendance at the official dinner hosted by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
The President is here on a three-day state visit.
At the banquet, Aquino spoke briefly but left soon after his speech without touching his food.
He was escorted by a visibly concerned Gillard as he left Parliament House in the capital, Canberra.
The media delegation became alarmed, too, worried whether the President could stand two more days of grueling schedule here in Sydney, before returning to Manila on Friday.
However, Aquino recovered Thursday, allowing him to fly with the large Philippine business delegation from Canberra to Sydney.
The same business group has been traveling with him from Manila to Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand, to Canberra and Sydney in Australia.
While en route to Sydney, “he ate a burger sandwich,” said Rey Marfil, the assistant secretary for media relations. “He’s alright now,” was all Marfil could would tell reporters.
Although not feeling well, the President managed to turn up at the Wednesday banquet hosted by Gillard in his honor.
But she had to dispense with formalities and protocol of the banquet, after Aquino complained he was “not feeling well.”
She thanked the President for his presence, but said, “We are very, very disappointed that you had become unwell, but we wish you a very speedy recovery and a good night’s rest here in Australia.”
Gillard, who delivered her speech ahead of the President’s, asked for everyone’s indulgence, as she said it would be best to allow Aquino to retire for the night.
“I know what it’s like to be chased around with paperwork when you’re feeling unwell and I’m sure it’s going to aid his recovery if he is left undisturbed tonight, which is my way of acknowledging our other honored Filipino guests,” she added.
The following day, the President turned up in Sydney, and was on time for all his official engagements, including a state luncheon at the New South Wales State Parliament hosted by Premier Barry O’Farrell.
Aquino sounded a little bit under the weather but managed to deliver a brief speech, thanking O’Farrell for hosting the luncheon.
He may not have partaken of the three-course meal consisting of pistachio crusted pressed beef and pan fried snapper at the Canberra dinner, but this time he took a bite or two of the food served at the Strangers Dining Room of the New South Wales Parliament House.
Starting at 2:20 p.m., he went through a flurry of business meetings with top officials of Australian companies Telstra; Macquarie; and Austal Atlantic, Gulf & Pacific Company of Manila.
With a hoarse voice, he spoke before the Philippine-Australia Business Forum, where he invited them to invest in Mindanao in the wake of the signing of a preliminary peace agreement with Moro rebels.
He promised to have the Bangsamoro organic act in place by 2015, and “we hope to install” an autonomous Moro government “with a mandate” by 2016.
He also met with CEOs of Australian companies in a roundtable discussion organized by the Asia Society Australia and the Australia-Philippine Business Council, and finally keynoted the Asia Society dinner, which was followed by a question-and-answer forum.
The President left Manila Sunday night accompanied by seven Cabinet members and a large business delegation. They arrived in Auckland, New Zealand Monday morning for a meeting with the Filipino community there.
On Tuesday, they flew to the New Zealand capital of Wellington and met with Prime Minister John Key and Governor General Jerry Mateparae.
He also witnessed the signing of three agreements on reciprocal working holiday scheme, defense cooperation and geothermal energy cooperation between the Philippines and New Zealand.
He and his party left Wellington before midnight Tuesday for Australia.
He met the governor general of the commonwealth of Australia, Quentin Bryce, and her husband, Michael Bryce, at Government House, which serves as the office of the governor general, who is the official representative of Queen Elizabeth II, Australia’s head of state.
Aquino then laid a wreath at the Australian War Memorial and toured select war galleries before sitting down for an interview with an Australian TV journalist.
The dinner hosted by Gillard in his honor was the day’s last official engagement.