With busy schedule, Aquino likely to miss Pacquiao bout

With his busy schedule while in Japan, President Benigno Aquino III might miss the fight between boxing icon and Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel “Manny" Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito on Sunday (Manila time), a Palace official said. Deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said Aquino, who is in Yokohama for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, has “engagements" on Sunday. “Sa araw ng Lunes ang araw na pagbalik ni Pangulong Aquino at ng delegasyon ... Depende pero sa nakikita ko sa schedule niya, may engagement siya tomorrow," she said on government-run dzRB radio. (Aquino and his delegation are due to return on Monday. Whether he can catch the fight will depend on his schedule but he has an engagement on Sunday.) On the other hand, Valte reiterated the Palace is confident Pacquiao will prevail in his latest fight. “We send our sincere prayers and wishes to Congressman Pacquiao. Nasa likod ninyo kami (We support you)," she said. Millions of Filipinos are expected to catch the Pacquiao-Margarito bout. Valte said Aquino has a stacked schedule on Saturday, including:

• A bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, where they will reinforce Philippine-Canada ties especially in labor;
• Working lunch organized by the Japanese government and hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, where the Korean president will brief leaders on the G-20 summit in Seoul;
• The 18th APEC economic leaders’ meeting at 2 p.m.;
• APEC Business Advisory Council dialogue with other leaders at 4 p.m.; and
• A cultural event in the evening; and dinner hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Kan.

A separate report on dzRB said Aquino was “very happy" with the outcome of his business meetings last Friday. — LBG, GMANews.TV