Aquino now admits September trips to US, Japan By Virgilio J. Bugaoisan 09/06/2011

Aquino now admits September trips to US, Japan

By Virgilio J. Bugaoisan 09/06/2011

Despite an earlier denial, President Aquino admitted yesterday that he is set to travel to the United States and Japan this month right after his five-day State Visit to the Peoples’ Republic of China where he tagged along around 200 businessmen and around 70 cabinet members and secretariat staff.

Before his China visit, the President has visited Vietnam, United States, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand although he is just a little over a year in office.

Aquino’s admission came only a few days after deputy presidential spokesman Abigail Valte retracted her pronouncement that the President is also set to go to the US and to Japan and claimed that the President has pending invitations for the two countries but has not given his green light on any of them.

But it now appears that Valte’s retraction was a mere attempt to downplay observations that Aquino has been bitten by travel bug as Aquino himself confirmed after administering the oath of newly appointed government officials that he will be going to the US to attend the formal launching of the new international anti-corruption group called the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and after which, he is also set to go to Japan for an official visit..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110906nat4.html