WASHINGTON (VIA PLDT)?(UPDATE) A 10-day period of national mourning has been ordered by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the woman she called a ?national treasure.?

Arroyo is cutting short her trip to the United States to join her fellow Filipinos in mourning former President Corazon Aquino?s passing, according to Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.

On the phone from New York with reporters in Washington, Ermita said Arroyo had yet to decide what part of her trip to cancel that would allow her to return to the Philippines immediately.

Arroyo received word of Aquino?s passing a few minutes before her scheduled meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Willard Hotel at 4:30 p.m. on Friday (4 a.m. Saturday in Manila).

She was shaken by the news and immediately instructed her staff to verify it while she proceeded to her meeting with Clinton, according to Heherson Alvarez, her adviser on climate change.

An hour later, Arroyo, dressed in a gray suit, taped a message on Aquino before proceeding to Andrews Air Force Base for her flight to New York.

She announced the period of mourning in her message.

Stops in Chicago, Guam

Upon arrival at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, the President was met by top Cabinet officials led by Ermita, who advised her to cut her trip short.

Ermita said Arroyo could afford to skip the rest of her trip?stops in Chicago and Guam until Aug. 5?because her scheduled meetings with Filipino-American organizations could be moved to another time.

A press conference is scheduled at 11 a.m. Saturday (11 p.m. Sunday in Manila), where Ermita will report on the President?s return date.

?She is coming back ? to share the grief of Filipinos in the loss of former President Aquino, who was instrumental in restoring democracy in the Philippines,? Ermita said.

While she was pondering on cutting her trip short, Arroyo signed Proclamation 1850 setting a period of national mourning from Aug. 1 to 10, with all flags to be flown at half-staff at all government buildings and installations in the Philippines and abroad.

Alvarez, who was Aquino?s agrarian reform secretary, recalled her ?fighting spirit? when her administration was beset by a succession of coup attempts.

?This is the passing of an era. I hope that we will not need another Aquino to save our democracy,? he said.

A full schedule awaited Arroyo in New York on Saturday, with four business meetings and an interview with CNBC?s Maria Baritomo.

She was to meet with Coca-Cola executives (arranged by Trade Secretary Peter Favila), with Chardan Capital and Dr. Vassils Morfopoulos of Basic International Development Corp. (both arranged by Batangas Rep. Hermilando Mandanas), and with unnamed hedge fund executives (arranged by former Finance Secretary Lito Camacho).

Ermita said Arroyo could afford to leave for home on Saturday night (when a dinner party with FilUSA at the Newark Sheraton was scheduled) or Sunday morning (when she was to attend Mass at St. Patrick?s Cathedral).

She was scheduled to leave New York for Chicago on Aug. 3.

Meeting with Hillary

The President met with Clinton amid confusion among her Cabinet officials and journalists who were informed that the meeting had been cancelled.

Apparently kept in the dark by protocol chief Marciano Paynor about the meeting, Ermita and Press Secretary Cerge Remonde kept insisting the meeting had been cancelled hours after it was held.

The two women leaders were said to have talked at the 6th floor of the Willard Hotel for half an hour, with discussions centering on security matters. The Palace?s RTVM was not allowed to cover the meeting.