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Aquino's Japan trip to cost P16.34 million


President Benigno Aquino III's five-day trip to Japan where he will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic (APEC) Summit and meet with some potential Japanese investors will cost the government around P16.34 million, Malacañang said Thursday. According to Executive Secretary Paquito "Jojo" Ochoa Jr., the amount covers the costs of accommodations, transportation, food and commercial airfares of Aquino and his 51-member delegation. "Everyone is conscious about the President’s desire to cut back on unnecessary expenses, so support staff are aware that they have to trim back their numbers to the barest minimum to perform their tasks during the trip," Ochoa said in a statement. Aquino and members of his delegation are set to fly to Japan past 2 p.m. Thursday. They are expected to return to the Philippines on Monday. Among those accompanying the president in the trip are Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Energy Secretary Rene Almendras, Presidential Management Staff head Julia Abad, and Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning head Ricky Carandang. Carandang said at a press briefing that they would also be joined by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for International Economic Relations Antonio Rodriguez and Trade Undersecretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. Among the topics that would be discussed at the APEC summit in Yokohama from November 12 to 15 are methods to lower trade barriers and cope with the weakened US dollar, Carandang said. He said the Philippine government is seeking bilateral meetings with Chile, China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the United States although these have yet to be finalized. Should the bilateral meeting with China push through, the Philippine government is prepared to answer possible questions about the August 23 hostage crisis where eight Chinese nationals from Hong Kong were killed to put "closure" on the issue, said Carandang. Aquino earlier said he will meet with three large corporations in Japan. He said he is hoping to top the $2.4 billion worth of investments that he and his delegation secured in the US last September. Aquino's Japan trip is his third foreign trip abroad since he took over last June 30, the first being his working visit in the US and the second his state visit and attendance to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Vietnam last month. — RSJ, GMANews.TV

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