5 Cabinet secretaries to join Noy in state visits

MANILA, Philippines -  Five members of the Cabinet of President Aquino will be joining him today when he leaves Manila for a state visit to Indonesia and later, on March 9, to the state-island of Singapore.

According to Secretary Ricky Carandang, those included in the official delegation are Secretaries Albert del Rosario (foreign affairs), Cesar Purisima (finance), Jose Rene Almendras (energy), Florencio Abad (budget) and Herminio Coloma.

Concerns regarding the welfare of overseas Filipino workers, he said, will have to be heard mostly from Singapore since Filipinos there are mostly domestic helpers, as against those in Indonesia, where Filipinos are highly regarded because they hold managerial posts.

Aside from strengthening bilateral and regional ties with his scheduled state visits to Jakarta and Singapore, Aquino would also be enticing leaders and businessmen of both nations to join in his government’s Public-Private Partnership programs.

His visit to Jakarta and Singapore follows the Association of Southeast Asian Nation’s tradition of a new head of state like him – who was elected into office in May 2010 - paying courtesy to fellow ASEAN members.

“The Philippines looks forward to a more robust Philippines-Indonesia and Philippines-Singapore bilateral relations, and a stronger ASEAN geared towards building a community by 2015,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Del Rosario said.