Aquino, RP delegates arrive in the US

(Updated 10:45 p.m.) President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III arrived on Tuesday morning (Manila time) in the United States (US) where he will be meeting with world political leaders and American investors. Aquino took a Philippine Airlines commercial flight, PR 104, which landed in San Francisco at 10:43 a.m. Manila time (7:43 p.m. Monday San Francisco time), said presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda. Lacierda said Aquino was welcomed by Consul-General Marciano Paynor Jr. and his staff. Aquino's trip the US is his first official foreign working visit as chief executive. Assistant Secretary Mai Mislang of the Presidential Communication Development and Strategic Planning (PCDSP) office posted updates about Aquino's trip on the government's Twitter account. Mislang said the president enjoyed burgers from the In-N-Out Burger restaurant at the holding area of the San Francisco International Airport before boarding a private plane to New York at around noontime in Manila (9 p.m. San Francisco time). Asked what Aquino's meals in the US will be like, Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning head Ricky Carandang said Aquino, who is known for his modest lifestyle, will mostly keep his meals simple. "The president doesn't really like having fancy dinners in five-star restaurants. He likes comfort food, as we said before," Carandang said in an interview with reporters in Malacañang. "Siyempre may pagkakataon na he will be hosted by certain people and they will have sit-down dinners but if it's his personal preference, you know him, he prefers simple food," he added.
Aquino in New York GMA News' Sandra Aguinaldo, who is in the US to cover Aquino's visit, said the president looked excited upon his arrival at the Sofitel Hotel around 5 p.m. (Manila time) escorted by US Secret Service agents. She said after resting, Aquino will meet with Vietnam President Nguyen Minh Triet at the UN headquarter, and World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick. It was not clear yet if Aquino would have a one-on-one meeting with US President Barack Obama during his weeklong working visit. Aguinaldo said Aquino was craving for pizza, hotdog and Chinese food for breakfast. Aquino and his delegation ate hamburgers in their stopover in San Francisco. In Manila, Lacierda said Aquino is also scheduled to be interviewed by the New York Times within the day. Lacierda said it was "possible" that Aquino's decision to meet with the Vietnam president was to make up for not having gone to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for his first official trip abroad. "That's possible because Vietnam is the chairman of ASEAN right now," said Lacierda. Previous Philippine presidents went to ASEAN countries for their first official foreign trips. Aquino's mother Corazon Aquino went to Singapore and Indonesia; Fidel V. Ramos reportedly went to Thailand, Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore; Joseph Estrada visited Singapore first; and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo went to Malaysia for her first foreign trip, according to GMA News Research. Lacierda said Presidential Security Group commander Col. Ramon Dizon advised them to relay the president's schedule on a day-to-day basis but quickly assured the public that there were no security threats to the president. The other activities lined up for Aquino for the rest of the week are the UN summit on the millennium development goals and the ASEAN-US leaders' meeting where he is expected to meet Obama. Aquino's official delegation is composed of 55 government officials and employees, a significantly leaner delegation compared to the 107-person delegation of Mrs. Arroyo when she met Obama last year. A 34-member business delegation will be going with Aquino to business conferences. – VVP/RSJ/KBK/HS, GMANews.TV