Gloria’s ten-minute ecstasy

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THE PRESIDENTIAL TOURIST

By Jay Cynikho

The majority of Filipinos does not necessarily expressed critical interest on foreign trips made by their Presidents. They accept it as part of the duties of their President to establish and maintain friendly working
relations with all other countries since the Philippines have no acknowledged foreign enemies. It even appointed its ambassador to Iraq long before a government was established there after the Iraq invasion by U.S.A.

Those interested and who regularly surf cyberspace may have stumbled on the website of the President. There foreign trips and other accomplishments of the President are given ample reportage. Needless to say, the President’s
foreign travels are not without significant importance to the country, particularly its costs to the mass of poor taxpayers.

Website write-ups for every trip had adequately spelled out what has been accomplished and achieved by the President. This piece, however, is not a substantive statement nor is it about the costs and benefits of those trips.

Suffice to say that recent public perception of the country’s image abroad should be indicative of the success of the country’s foreign relations. And whether
taxpayers money spent on these trips were worth them.

The President’s website will probably give a good idea of who among them was the most traveled and most expensive President from the days of the late President Manuel Quezon. It appeared that President Gloria M. Arroyo had
topped them all.

The website as of November 17, 2006 had listed a total of 40 state, working and official visits to 27 countries from August 7, 2001 to November 20, 2006. Fifteen (15) of these countries had been visited more than once, making a total of 58 sorties to these 27 countries. During
Arroyo’s first year in office, she established a record of sort likely to remain unbroken for a very long time,

Travels during 2001

In 2001 her first year in office, President Arroyo started late in her foreign trips, but her trips were many and in close frequency. In just four months the President went out of the country eight times. She visited 10 countries, eight of them on state visits and four on working visits.

In August 2001, she visited Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Singapore.In September she spent four days in Japan; October had her visiting Shanghai, People’s Republic of China and Hongkong.

November was her most traveled month spending 15 days (that’s one-half month) on official time
revisiting Brunei on an ASEAN function, going also to Jakarta, Indonesia for two days and capping the year’s travel to U.S.A. and Mexico on November 14 –
23, 2001. The First Gentlemen, Atty. Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo had been listed to have accompanied the President in all (except Malaysia) these foreign trips. Daughter Luli was with them on the trip to Brunei and Singapore. Three children were listed to have joined them in the trips to
U.S.A. and Mexico.

How much did President Arroyo spent on foreign trips during her first year in office? Only the Budget Commission and the Commission on Audit should be able to provide factual figures. These offices are not likely to do that.

Travels during 2002

Accompanied by the First Gentleman, President Arroyo first visited during her second year in office three most powerful nations: United Kingdom, Canada and the U.S.A. from January 29 to February 5, 2002. The year saw the
President Arroyo strengthening the country’s foreign relations to nine countries. These involve six state visits to U.K., Canada, Malaysia (second time), Thailand, Vietnam and Japan. Four working visits to U.S.A., Japan
(second time), Mexico (second time) and Cambodia.

The President was in U.S.A. in November 2001 and on January 2002; in Mexico first on Nov 2001 and then on October 2002. She visited Japan first time on September 2001, the second time on May 2002. After seven months she went
back to Japan for her state visit on December 2002.

During her second year in office Mrs. Arroyo visited fewer countries than during her first year. Although she made more working visits, like attending leaders meeting and summits.

Travels during 2003

Believed it or not, President Arroyo made her second state visit to U.S.A. during her third year in office. The first time was in November 2001, the second time on May 2003. She returned to the United States again on September 2003 on her way to Europe where she visited Paris and Rome. This
year she made only three state visits to U.S.A., South Korea and Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain. Working visits were made to ten countries attending International meetings and conferences. These countries were: Kuwait, Malaysia (third and fourth times in 2003), Japan (fifth time), Brunei
(third time), U.S.A. (fourth time), Europe, Indonesia (second time), Thailand (second time), and Hongkong (second time).

Travels during 2004

Being an election year and probable last year (she promised not to ran for office) of President Arroyo, this year could have been the year of her greatest number of travel. It was expected that she will have lighter workload at home and will shy away from electioneering activities. But she broke her promise not to run for the presidency and got so heavily involved politicking. Logically her travels became mostly domestic, barnstorming the nook and corners of the country.

Her only significant sortie in 2004 was to the People’s Republic of China, her only state visit for 2004. She visited China from September 2-4, 2004, four months after the elections. The First Gentleman was not listed to have
accompanied the President. In addition during October to November, she made working visits to Vietnam, Chile, Mexico (third time), and Laos. Four countries in two months time, after the elections.

Travels during 2005

During her fifth year in office, Mrs. Arroyo traveled only four times starting in April to Jakarta, Indonesia; in September to U.N. in New York (her fifth trip to U.S.A.); In Busan, South Korea and in December to Malaysia (also her fifth) to attend the 11th Asean Summit.

Travels during 2006

As of November 20, 2006 Mrs. Arroyo had already made six foreign trips to eleven countries and has been out of the country for more than a month (33 days). She visited the Peoples Republic of China including Hongkong (seventh
time), Saudi Arabia (first time), Italy/Rome ( third time), Spain, Finland, Belgium, Cuba and Libya (all first time may be), and Vietnam (third time).

Whether she will still travel in December 2006 and where she will go for her annual holiday excursion can be gleaned from her past December overseas trips. Mrs. Arroyo and party was home in December 2001 but went overseas
early in November having visited Brunei (November 4-6), Jakarta, Indonesia (November 12-13), and the U.S.A and Mexico (14-23 November) with the First Gentleman and three children). In October and November of her first year in
office she probably had established a record of sorts when she made state/working visits to China, Hongkong, Brunei, Indonesia, U.S.A. and Mexico in a period of 21 days.

In 2002, she had a state visit to Japan (December 2-5, 2002). The following year she again went to Japan (December 11 -12 , 2003) capping it with trips
to Hongkong and Bahrain. She stayed home in December 2004; but attended 11th ASEAN Summit in Malaysia in December 11-14, 2005.

The Six-Year Record Summary

These are statistics and places of travel made by a President who is
accused of being a bogus President who stole the Presidency not once but twice.

At a glance the alleged fake President seemed to have achieve the distinction of being the most traveled President. In her first year she went out of the country eight times in four months, visiting a total of 10
countries in 39 days. Her second year travel involved 10 countries (Japan, twice) in 26 days. Her third year covered 15 countries in 41 days.

During her fourth year, an election year, Mrs. Arroyo visited only 5 countries all in Asia in 10 days. During her fifth year visited still fewer countries,five countries in 15 days.

So far this year (2006) , Mrs. Arroyo visited 12 countries in 33 days. In all her past travels Mrs. Arroyo within a six-year period had visited 27 countries in 164 days. In other words, that is almost five and half months
travel in a six year period. She has also made 58 sorties to the 27 provinces since she visited 15 countries more than once.

No doubt, for the country’s enhancement of its foreign policy, Mrs. Arroyo had to visit a few countries more often than the others. Her website indicates U.S.A.(6 times), Japan and Malaysia (five times each ); China (4 times), Indonesia, Italy/Rome, Vietnam and Brunei, (3 times), while Hongkong, France, Thailand, Mexico, U.K., and Vietnam (twice).

Along with foreign policy issues, Filipino taxpayers are also interested
how many times and where the President goes every time she leaves the country. In the absence of factual information on her and her travel party’s actual expenses, the frequency, her destination and the current perceived
international image will give an initial indication of her performance in the country’s foreign affairs.

As a rough estimate, if Mrs. Arroyo’s foreign trips cost the taxpayers US $1 million per day, then she would have spent US $164 million and that’s a hot and heavy 8,200 million pesos (P8.2 billion). The President’s Visits
and Travels in the website indicated the President seemed to have made more foreign trips than was necessary.

From Amando Dayrit:

what do you expect? two chief liars and two election cheats (arroyo stealing the 2004 election and bush stealing the election twice) parlaying for 10 minutes. surely, arroyo’s official liar will naturally issue an official lie, if not a downright stupid release from the same stupid people of malacanang. besides, 10 minutes of parlaying is an eternity or a 10-minute inane parlay from an equally idiotic american president.