Arroyo to meet with Gore before flying to China

Outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will meet former US Vice President Al Gore when he visits the country on June 8 for a lecture on global warming and climate change. Deputy presidential spokesman Rogelio Peyuan said President Arroyo would see Gore before she leaves for Shanghai, China, in the afternoon of June 8 to attend the Philippine Pavilion Day at the Shanghai Expo. The event also coincides with Filipino-Chinese Friendship Day. Peyuan said the meeting would probably take place at the SMX Convention Hall at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, where Gore would keynote a lecture on “The Leader As Environment Steward," which would be attended by the country’s top public and private sector leaders. Gore, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is expected to present an Asian version of “An Inconvenient Truth," the documentary on the threat of climate change and the solutions to global warming. Gore’s latest book, “Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis," gathers all the most effective available measures that will help solve the climate crisis. Peyuan said President Arroyo has also received an international award for her advocacy against climate change, but the citation was widely criticized because of her government’s move to encourage more investments in the mining sector. In China, President Arroyo is expected to be busy, Peyuan said. “It will be a very, very full-pack day and loaded schedule for the President while in Shanghai for the entire whole day of June 9," he said. Peyuan said the President will seek to maintain strong relations with China and promote the Philippines. He said she would return to Manila immediately to prepare her speech and report to the nation on its 112th Independence Day celebration on June 12. President Arroyo will bow out of office on June 30. - KBK, GMANews.TV