Arroyo arriving Sunday

After a seven-day European tour of the Vatican, Italy and Spain, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, her family and Cabinet members return to the Philippines Sunday morning. The President's party is expected to land at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City at 8 a.m. In Rome, Mrs. Arroyo met with Pope Benedict XVI who praised the President for scrapping capital punishment in the Philippines. Mrs. Arroyo signed into law the anti-death penalty bill on the eve of her departure. The President said she has invited the Pope to visit the Philippines. The last time a Pope visited the Philippines was in 1995, by the late Pope John Paul II. Mrs. Arroyo also met with Italian President Giorgio Napolitan and Prime Minister Romano Prodi, with whom she discussed the plight of overseas Filipino workers. She and her family then had a two-day “private" furlough to spend First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo’s birthday before going back to “work" in Madrid. In Madrid, the President witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Spain and the Philippines opening the doors for Filipino workers to go there. Outgoing Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said the agreement would benefit up to 100,000 Filipino health care workers under a pilot project arrangement. The signing of the agreement was Sto. Tomas’ last major official act before leaving the Labor department. She will assume chairmanship of the Development Bank of the Philippines July 3. Appellate court associate justice Arturo Brion will take over the labor portfolio that same day. Sto. Tomas said 40 of the first batch of 100 Filipino workers are already in Madrid while the 60 others will arrive in August. It is possible that a new batch of 60 Filipinos will be allowed entry by September. Within the next five years, Spain’s health care sector would need one million foreign workers, she added. Before returning to Manila, Mrs. Arroyo invited Spanish businessmen to invest in the Philippines. - GMANews.TV