President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III's five-day trip to Vietnam from October 26 to 30 will cost around P11.3 million, Malacañang said on Tuesday. Aquino will be in Vietnam for a state visit (October 26 to 27) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit (October 28 to 30). In a statement, Executive Secretary Paquito "Jojo" Ochoa Jr. said the P11.3-million budget covers the expenses of Aquino's 52-member delegation to Vietnam. The amount covers accommodations, transportation, food, and airfares. "The president is being consistently prudent when it comes to his trips. He insisted on cutting the support staff to a minimum and paring down expenses so that taxpayers' money is wisely spent," Ochoa said. Aquino and some members of his delegation flew to Vietnam Tuesday morning. They arrived at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi around noon. In a press conference upon his arrival at the Grand Plaza Hotel, Aquino said he hopes to share with Vietnam knowledge in solving problems that the two countries both experience. The Philippines imports rice from Vietnam. Aquino noted that the agricultural land in Vietnam seems to be planned for "full utilization but at the same time it is not crowded, it doesn't seem haphazard or unplanned." "Their agricultural production really seems to be something worth emulating. There's a dearth of areas that are left vacant. Everything's abundant. The water system seems to be really good," said Aquino. Among the high-ranking officials who are part of the delegation are:
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo; Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima; Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo; Presidential Management staff head Julia Abad; Presidential Communications, Development and Strategic Planning head Ricky Carandang, and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairperson Patricia Licuanan. Aquino will meet during his October 26 to 27 state visit the following leaders: Vietnamese president Nguyen Minh Triet; Vietnamese Prime Minster Nguyen Tan Dung, and Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary Nong Duc Manh. Aquino's Vietnam delegation ACCOMPANYING OFFICIALS 1. DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo 2. DOF Secretary Cesar Purisima 3. DTI Secretary Gregory Domingo 4. DND Secretary Voltaire Gazmin 5. CHED chair Patricia Licuanan 6. DFA Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio 7. Chief of Presidential Protocol Miguel Perez-Rubio 8. DTI Assistant Secretary Ramon Kabigting 9. DFA Assistant Secretary Victoria Bataclan 10. DFA Assistant Secretary Cristina Ortega 11. PCG Commandant Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM 12. Presidential Management Staff Secretary Julia Abad 13. Presidential Communications Operations Office Assistant Secretary Renato Marfil 14. Media Accreditation and Relations Office head/director Jo Paulo Espiritu 15. MARO project officer Lorina de los Reyes 16. Presidential News Desk news editor Faye Velasco 17. Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Secretary Ricky Carandang 18. PCDSP Assistant Secretary Maria Carmen Mislang 19. Special Assistant to the President Reynaldo Delantar 20. Senior Military Aide-de-Camp Col. Jeffrey Delgado 21. Junior Military Aide-de-Camp Cdr. Edwin Nera 22. Close-in photographer Jay Morales 23. Official photographer Benhur Arcayan 24. Deputy chief of presidential protocol Jaime Ramon Ascalon 25. Protocol Officer Roberto Ruben Fajardo 26. Protocol Officer Aquino Sultan 27. Protocol Officer Roger Daquiuag 28. Protocol Officer Cheryl Sadiwa 29. Protocol Officer Eizes Fulgencio 30. - 43. Members of the Presidential Security Group 44. Presidential Broadcast Staff/Radio Television Malacanang executive director Virgilio Nadal Jr. 45. PBS/RTVM teleprompter operator Maria Concepcion Bocobo 46. PBS/RTVM teleprompter technician Numeriano Cuevas 47. PBS/RTVM team leader/project officer Hazel Abad 48. PBS/RTVM video editor Robert Lineses 49. PBS/RTVM writer Jacqueline Amazona 50. PBS/RTVM VTR technician Hernan Estimada 51. PBS/RTVM pool cameraman Victor Victoria 52. PBS/RTVM close-in cameraman Amando Lapitan The Philippine government will sign with Vietnam four agreements on education cooperation, defense cooperation, oil spill preparedness and response, and search and rescue at sea. At the ASEAN summit on October 28-30, Aquino is expected to talk about greater regional cooperation and human rights, among others. Aquino said during his press conference in Hanoi that he will push for the creation of a code of conduct in the South China Sea among fellow ASEAN members and China. The South China Sea is the location of the Spratly Islands, a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, and islands. Various Asian countries including the Philippines are claiming ownership of the territory. "(We will) reiterate the call for a code of conduct and an even more formalized plan towards exploiting it (Spratly Islands) perhaps on a cooperative basis," said Aquino. Aquino and his delegation will return to the country on Sunday. The president's trip to Vietnam is his second official trip abroad as chief executive, the first being his week-long working visit to the United States last month. Malacanang pegged the US trip's cost at P25 million. Upon his return, Aquino announced that he secured $2.4 billion in investments and the generation of more than 43,000 new jobs within the next three years. "If the first foreign trip taught us anything, it is that it is possible to limit the delegation size and keep costs down and still meet the objectives of this trip," said Ochoa. –VVP, GMANews.TV 
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