Bush visiting RP next year?

If plans push through, United States President George W. Bush will be in Manila next year.

However, President Arroyo could not say yet the exact date of Bush’s state visit, which will be his first since his election to the US presidency last year.

The President told mediamen yesterday that Bush has expressed intentions to visit the Philippines once threats of terrorism in the US have subsided.

Mrs. Arroyo noted that Bush has not traveled for a while since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington D.C. "As you have noticed, he (Bush) has not gone anywhere except to the APEC," she said, referring to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Summit in Shanghai, China in October.

There are rumors that Bush might visit the country in February, right after Mrs. Arroyo’s scheduled trip to New York on Jan. 27 to 29, her second US visit since becoming President last January. — Marichu Villanueva