By ELLEN TORDESILLAS
PRESIDENT Arroyo is making a quick visit to the United States today, catching by surprise even Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo.
Based on Arroyo’s original schedule, she should have left Milan, Italy last night for Saudi Arabia. She was expected in Bahrain today for an official visit.
A naughty mind in the Palace said maybe the President is still angling for a meeting, even if by chance, with U.S. President Barack Obama.
Arroyo left Manila Friday evening for Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum.
Arroyo’s last-minute US trip was a surprise to Malacañang which, through Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, merely announced that Arroyo had been invited by a group of US lawmakers for the national prayer breakfast in Washington D.C.
Remonde said the letter of invitation was dated Jan. 30 and that there was yet no official word on whether the President was going. He said Arroyo was on the road when the invitation came.
Remonde said the U.S. lawmakers, whom he did not name, issued the invitation “in recognition of the leadership role that President Arroyo displayed in this part of the world.”
Foreign Affairs officials had to make last-minute arrangements.
Romulo, who arrived from Switzerland last Sunday, was in Iloilo when he learned about the U.S. trip. He is expected to leave today or early tomorrow morning.
Arroyo’s foreign trips in recent months have been a puzzle to the Department of Foreign Affairs. Her visit to Milan and Bahrain did not include Romulo who is supposed to be present in all bilateral meetings.
Observers said the frequency of Arroyo’s trips increased after the collapse of Lehman Investment last quarter of 2008, which triggered a financial crisis in the U.S. and spread to other countries.
She was in New York for the interfaith dialog on Nov. 12. She had a stopover in San Francisco on Nov. 21, on her way to Lima, Peru for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation.
It was in the Peru trip that her chartered Philippine Airlines plane had to make an unscheduled stopover in Osaka due to her husband’s upset stomach. First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo’s office belied talks he was being investigated by American authorities for money laundering, which is why the presidential plane did not head for Honolulu, which was nearer.
Arroyo was in Hong Kong on Dec. 3 for the Clinton Global Initiative. She was in Qatar 10 days later.
Arroyo, in a meeting after the World Economic Forum in Switzerland over the weekend, invited Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to visit the Philippines. Both leaders served as resource speakers at the WEF.
From Davos in Switzerland, Arroyo went to Milan Sunday night to attend mass at the Milan Cathedral and meet with the Filipino community.
Arroyo was scheduled to visit the Kingdom of Bahrain today as part of the government’s effort to further strengthen economic and bilateral relations between the two countries.–With Regina Bengco