GMA seeks Pope blessings in Rome visit, renew ties with Portugal

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo departed for Rome in Italy to seek the Pope's blessing Saturday.

In her departure statement, Pres. Arroyo said, "The sun never sets on the work of the Philippine President in the modern world."

"In the past two weeks, I have traveled across East Asia to reap greater tides, peace and prosperity for our nation; and I am embarking today for the Vatican and Portugal in a virtually uninterrupted voyage for trade, investments, peace, security and spiritual rearmament for the Filipino people," she said.

She declared that Japan was for economic partnership. New Zealand was for peace. Australia was for regional security. In Rome, she said that, "I shall go to the Vatican to seek the Pope’s renewed blessings for our people, then to Portugal to reinvigorate century-old ties. On the way home, I shall pass by Chengdu in Sichuan, China’s largest province; and Chongquing, the fastest growing city in the world."

"From the economic to the spiritual realm, the Filipino rules the future. From seven percent growth to fuel the fight against poverty, we take higher inspiration from the prospective canonization of the first Filipino Saint of this century. God has given us a wellspring of blessings as well as the fortitude and the armor to do good and prosper," the president said.

She noted that, "We are stitching the threads of history and strategy to gain the vantage point for the Filipino people towards the end of the decade. From political stability at home, we have to stretch our horizons to security in the region. From economic vibrance at home, we must derive broader alliances to leverage the excellence of the Filipino and the value of our natural resources."

"Growth must defeat poverty, global cooperation must win the peace, trade must propel people-to-people exchanges that make us one world and one humanity. The panoply of aspirations, creeds and dreams in East Asia must drive a caring and sharing community," she said.

She noted that the Filipino people shall continue to forge on with the unity of the Filipino people behind "the sails of our nation, the confidence of the world as a buoy in challenging seas, and the collective patriotism of our leaders to pave the way forward. We shall bring your warm embrace to all our compatriots in the lands I shall visit."