Palace exec: Aquino US trip to cost P25M

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said President Benigno Simeon Aquino III will be spending P25 million for his working visit to the United States next week. In an interview with reporters on Friday, Ochoa said the cost for the week-long visit is about one third of the expenses incurred by former President and now incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for a similar trip last year. In 2009, Mrs. Arroyo led a 107-man delegation in the US to meet US President Barack Obama and spent P69 million in travel expenses. A US publication also revealed that her entourage dined at upscale restaurants Le Cirque in New York and Bobby Van’s Steakhouse in Washington DC for $20,000 and $15,000, respectively. However, in Aquino's trip, Ochoa said the President decided to squeeze in the expenses for airfare, contingent, hotel, meals, and transportation into a P25-million budget. He added that Aquino cut down the number of security detail, private staff, and communications group joining to the trip to save money. Ochoa said Aquino will be staying at Sofitel New York instead of the luxurious Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, adding that the President likewise opted to fly commercial instead of dispatching a chartered plane. Among the activities lined up for Aquino during his first US trip as president are witnessing the signing of the Millennium Challenge Corporation's $434-million grant and a meeting with the Philippine Development Foundation to discuss information technology projects. Earlier, Aquino said a meeting with Obama has yet to be finalized. — RSJ/VVP, GMANews.TV