For the ASEAN Summit: Two Visayan diplomats in Tokyo set to be in Cebu as media consultants

Two Tokyo-based Visayan foreign affairs officers are set to arrive in Cebu last week of this month to work as the city's consultants for media relations with the foreign press that would cover the ASEAN Summit in December, said Nagiel Banacia, city hall public information officer.

Banacia, who also represents Mayor Tomas Osmeña in the Cebu Organizing Committee, also said the city has allocated P50,000 for transportation expenses of each of these two officers, namely consul Lilibeth Pono and foreign information officer Flordelia Balite.

Pono is a Cebuana who once worked with the city government before joining the country's diplomatic corps. She is currently the Philippines' cultural officer in Tokyo.

Balite is from Bohol who married a Cebuano. She has been handling media affairs in Tokyo since 2000, as foreign information officer.

Mayor Osmeña said he believed Pono and Balite are definite help for the city government, especially in handling the Japanese media members because of their connections and exposure to the Japanese press.

The mayor said that along with the dignitaries in the Summit, the foreign media would be in the best position to promote Cebu in their respective countries.

Pono and Balite would also assess and determine the budget for the 2,000 media men covering the international event. The city has initially set aside P10 million for such expected expenditures, which include budget for tours of the island.

The city had assured Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo to shoulder the transportation expenses of these two officers while in Cebu City.

Banacia said the two are still handling an important event in Tokyo and are just waiting for the go signal from the DFA for their trip to Cebu. -Joeberth M. Ocao/RAE