MANILA - The government will be spending P7 million for President Benigno Aquino III’s trip to Brunei, where the 22nd high-level meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be held, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said.
The expenses cover the charter lease, accommodation, transportation, food and equipment, among others, for the President and the delegation.
President Aquino left this afternoon for Bandar Seri Begawan via a chartered Philippine Airlines flight accompanied by 51-member delegation that includes Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, Cabinet Secretary to the President Rene Almendras, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, Mindanao Development Authority Secretary Luwalhati Antonino, and Presidential Protocol Chief Celia Anna Feria.
Aquino will push anew for the full implementation Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the West Philippine Sea and the early conclusion of a substantive and legally binding code of conduct, as well as the review of the ASEAN Charter with the objective of streamlining the work and meetings of the regional bloc.
