MANILA, PhilippinesAnd then there were just eight.
The majority of 40 congressmen reportedly eyeing slots in President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyos delegation to the Asia Pacific Economic Summit in Peru have backed off supposedly on the request of House Speaker Prospero Nograles.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita on Wednesday said the number was now down to eight -- or 10 at most -- two days before Arroyos departure for the summit in Lima.
From the initial rumor of about 40 (congressmen), I heard there were only eight, he said in a briefing. They were talked to by the speaker. They volunteered not to go anymore.
Ermita did not identify the eight House members who still decided to fly with Arroyo despite criticism that the Lima trip could serve only as a junket for them.
He said only five officials were part of the official delegation: Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, Trade Secretary Peter Favila, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza, Edsel Custodio, Foreign undersecretary for international economic affairs, and former Foreign Secretary Roberto Romulo.
Including administrative staff members and Presidential Security Group officers, the delegation would number at least 40 people.
In Lima, Ermita said, Arroyo would join other world leaders in drafting fresh strategies on issues such as the raging global financial turmoil, human security, food and energy security, climate change, and corporate social responsibility.
She was also expected to make another pitch for the proposed $80-billion crisis fund for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the initial details of which were discussed during a technical working group meeting in Manila last week.
The crisis fund had been proposed at the 7th Asia-Europe Meeting in Beijing last month, primarily as an expanded version of the Chiang Mai Initiative, which was mainly focused on bilateral swap agreements.
An existing suggestion was for China, Japan, and South Korea -- the so-called Plus 3 dialogue partners of ASEAN -- to shoulder 80 percent of the proposed regional facility, with the remainder shouldered by the rest of the region.
From Peru, Ermita said, Arroyo will proceed to Colombia for a meeting with President Alvaro Uribe and other officials. He did not say what areas of cooperation Arroyo intended to establish with the Colombians.
Favila did not rule out the possibility of a meeting between Arroyo and outgoing US President George W. Bush. He said Bush would most likely use the APEC affair to say goodbye to other world leaders.
