Aquino’s trip to Myanmar for WEF to cost P6-M

MANILA, Philippines – The government has earmarked around P6 million for the trip of the Filipino contingent led by President Benigno S. Aquino III to Myanmar, the host of the 22nd World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia.

The gathering, considered the Asian version of the WEF event held in Davos, Switzerland every January, is attended by over 900 participants, mostly key decision-makers, from 55 countries to discuss the challenges facing the region, Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. said on Friday, June 7.

The budget covers the charter lease, accommodations, transportation, food and equipment, among others, for the President and his official delegation.

President Aquino left for Nay Pyi Taw on Friday morning via a chartered Philippine Airlines flight. The 57-member delegation includes Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, Cabinet Secretary to the President Jose Rene Almendras, Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla, Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, Presidential Management Staff head Julia Andrea Abad and Presidential Protocol Chief Celia Anna Feria.

Other members of the official delegation are Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr., Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad and PCDSPO Secretary Ramon Carandang, who all left ahead of the Chief Executive.

This is the first trip of President Aquino to Myanmar and also a first by a Philippine leader since former President Fidel V. Ramos, who visited the ASEAN neighbor in 1997.

President Aquino will be meeting with business leaders to encourage them to invest in the Philippines. He will also meet with Myanmar President Thein Sein and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who is now a parliamentarian and leader of the opposition National League for Democracy, at the sidelines of the forum.

He will travel back to Friday evening, June 7. – Rappler.com