No caretaker role for Binay while PNoy's in US

President Benigno Aquino III will fly to the US for a week-long working visit on Monday night but will continue to run the government himself, with Vice President Jejomar Binay's task limited only to representing him in official ceremonial functions. Malacañang, however, was quick to note that this was not a sign of disrespect to Binay, who ran under a different political party during the May 10 national and local elections. “The Vice President shall represent the President in social functions requiring the presence of the latter and shall preside over all official ceremonies, receive and return the official calls of foreign dignitaries in behalf and in representation of the President," said presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda in an interview on Radyo ng Bayan on Sunday. “And in such occasion the Vice President shall be entitled to the honors and courtesies given the President of the Philippines," he added. Under the previous administration, then Vice President Noli de Castro was always given a caretaker role every time then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was out of the country. In a memorandum issued Sunday, Aquino authorized Executive Secretary Pacquito Ochoa Jr. to sign documents, including those usually signed “under the authority of the President," while he is away. Ochoa is also allowed to convene the Cabinet when necessary and preside over its meeting if the vice president is unavailable. He will also oversee communications to the President, especially about matters that require his consultation or approval. Aquino will be out of the country from September 20 to 26. Malacañang had trimmed the number of members of the delegation to 57, including Cabinet secretaries Alberto Romulo (Foreign Affairs), Cesar Purisima (Finance), Gregory Domingo (Trade and Industry), and Jose Rene Almendras (Energy). Aquino will attend key events in New York on September 24, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). First, Aquino is slated to visit the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, address its General Assembly, and meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. At the meeting, Aquino is expected to discuss the Philippine commitment and achievements to fulfill the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), among others. In the afternoon, Aquino is expected to play a leading role at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-US Leaders Meeting, and hold bilateral meetings with other ASEAN state leaders. - Sophia Regina Dedace/KBK, GMANews.TV