Pacquiao to head Palace VIPs at Arroyo SONA

Filipino boxing icon Emmanuel “Manny" Pacquiao will head the list of VIPs at President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s last State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, Malacañang said Sunday. Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said most of the VIPs would be “beneficiaries" of the Arroyo administration’s programs. “Sasabihin ko na most prominent siguro si Manny Pacquiao sa mga bisita. But most are beneficiaries ng mga programa ng Pangulo. Ipapakita rin natin ang visuals kasama ng infrastructure projects na pinagawa ng Pangulo, to see is to believe (I’ll say the most prominent guest will be Pacquiao. Most of the other VIPs will be beneficiaries of government projects under Mrs. Arroyo’s watch. There will also be other visuals, including infrastructure projects. To see is to believe)," Remonde said in an interview on dzBB radio. President Arroyo will deliver at 4 p.m. Monday her last SONA, before a joint session of Congress at the Batasan Pambansa Complex in Quezon City. Remonde declined to give details of the SONA's content, saying Mrs. Arroyo is still working on it. Remonde also said the “Bangkang Papel boys," the three young boys who Mrs. Arroyo presented in her first SONA in 2001, made a courtesy call to the President in Malacañang last Saturday. During the boy’s visit, the three denied the issues raised against Mrs. Arroyo, Remonde said. “Puro kasinungalingan ang issues na na-raise against sa presidente (The boys said the issues raised against the president are all lies)," he said. Sometime in 2001, the young boys (then) from the Payatas Dumpsite in Quezon City launched paper boats where they wrote their dreams. Through the murky waters of Pasig River, the boats found their way to Malacañang Palace, where newly installed President Gloria Arroyo has been holding office since. The three boys were Jason Vann Banogan, Jomar Pabalan and Erwin Dolera, victims of the Payatas tragedy on July 10, 2000 that left 300 families homeless when the mountain of garbage collapsed and buried some 1000 people living near the trash heap. They had simple and clear dreams, said Arroyo in her first SONA in 2001. A Malacañang statement said that Pabalan, 18; and Dolera, 17, two of 500 children in the Payatas dumpsite who got government scholarships “have nothing but gratitude for her." The Palace statement said the two decried allegations that Mrs. Arroyo abandoned them after their much- publicized appearance in her first SONA. Pabalan and Dolera are getting college degrees in their respective schools while their parents were given jobs after undergoing livelihood skills training. “They also wished, however, that their parents’ job will be permanent," the Palace said. It added the two boys said they will make an appearance at the SONA Monday “should the President require their presence." - GMANews.TV