Govt to shell out P3.5M for PHL's participation in ASEAN Summit

The Aquino administration will be shelling out P3.5 million for the Philippines’ participation in the 20th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and the celebration of its 45th anniversary in Cambodia from April 3 to 4.

 

President Benigno Aquino III will be leading the 63-member delegation to the two-day conference.

 

To go with the President are: Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Transportation Secretary Manuel Roxas II, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, Mindanao Development Authority chairperson Luwalhati Antonino, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman and presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda.

 

Aquino will be leaving Manila Monday night via a chartered flight from Villamor Air Base in Pasay City to Phnom Penh International Airport.

 

In a press statement Monday, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said the P3.5-million budget covers expenses for hotel accommodations, food, transportation, telecommunications and equipment requirements.

 

“The President will be participating in the plenary sessions and bilateral meetings, including the 8th Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area Summit, as well as meet our kababayans living and working in Cambodia,” he said.

 

Similarly during the 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali, Indonesia in November last year, the Chief Executive is expected to discuss and underscore, among other issues, the importance of maintaining peace, stability, maritime safety and security in the West Philippine Sea.

 

The President is particularly pushing for the Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friendship and Cooperation (ZoPFFC), which he presented in May 2011 during the 18th ASEAN meeting in Jakarta, to address territorial disputes over the West Philippine Sea.

 

President Aquino will also be discussing with fellow leaders in the ASEAN during informal meetings the planned rocket launch by North Korea, which the Philippines had opposed. — Amita Legaspi/RSJ, GMA News