President Noynoy left for San Francisco (US) on Monday 20th September 2010 at 10:30PM. He was seen off by Vice President Binay, members of the cabinet and the Philippine Air Force in a customary departure honor, marking his 1st foreign trip as president.
The primary purpose of the trip is to strengthen ties with the US and bring more investors to the Philippines with the promise of removing the red tape that keep investors from maximising the potential of the Philippines.
During his trip, P-Noy will address 150 Heads of State/Government at the United Nationals General Assembly (UNGA) in order to reaffirm the Philippine Government’s dedication to the UN charter. A move sure to strengthen the Philippines worldwide standing.
In another move to strengthen business ties with the US, The President will visit New York and be coordinator for the second ASEAN-US. Leaders Meeting. The President will also meet with Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary-General.
“We have embarked on this journey to send a message to the world, and particularly to one of our biggest trading partners, the United States of America: the Philippines is open for business.”
With a trip budget of P25-Million, P-Noy and his 57-member official delegation will be making every attempt to show that progress can be made without splashing money around. P-Noy flew on a commercial flight (PR 104), operated by Philippine Airlines.
Vice President Binay will continue with his regular duties in the absence of President Noynoy.
“With all the available communications technology, appointing a caretaker would be unnecessary since the President can constantly keep in touch with the Cabinet and key government officials. For the Vice President, what is important is that the day-to-day business of government remains uninterrupted. The President has instructed Vice President Binay to perform certain duties and the Vice President will perform these duties,”