SAN FRANCISCO?A $434-million grant to fight poverty and meetings with US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton await President Benigno Aquino III as he embarks on his first foreign trip as head of state, temporarily leaving behind him a storm at home caused by a hostage fiasco.

Mr. Aquino was departed late Monday night for a weeklong visit to the United States, where he will also address the United Nations General Assembly and meet with his fellow Southeast Asian leaders.

Mr. Aquino was accompanied by a 55-member delegation that included Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo, Energy Secretary Rene Almendras, Foreign Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio, Chief Presidential Protocol Miguel Perez-Rubio and Assistant Secretary Felicitas Agoncillo-Reyes.

Thirty-three ?top caliber? businessmen were also in the presidential entourage, Malacañang said. Among them were Ramon del Rosario, Ramon Ang, Francis Chua, Antonio Cojuangco, Manuel Pangilinan, Doris Magsaysay-Ho, Eugenio Lopez III, Oscar Lopez, Teresita Sy-Coson and Enrique Razon.

?They will be accompanying the President in his various meetings with various business executives of the US,? said presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda.

Troops on alert

As Mr. Aquino left Manila, troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police went on full alert in the capital as part of what officials said was standard operating procedure whenever the President goes abroad.

?There are no threats. Everything is normal,? said Lt. Col. Arman Rico, military spokesperson for Metro Manila.

On Thursday, Mr. Aquino will witness in New York the signing of the $434-million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant the United States is providing the Philippines to help his administration finance its programs on poverty reduction, revenue generation and infrastructure development.

It is the first foreign assistance program granted by the United States to the Aquino administration.

Flurry of meetings

Romulo and Clinton will speak at the signing ceremony at Waldorf Astoria.

Prior to the signing, Mr. Aquino and Clinton will have a brief meeting in a holding room of Waldorf Astoria, officials said.

Mr. Aquino is expected to arrive in New York on Tuesday morning and will attend meetings with US business leaders before the signing of the MCC agreement.

The highlights of his trip include a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York on Sept. 24 and a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Before addressing the UN assembly, Mr. Aquino will attend the 2nd ASEAN-US Leaders? Meeting ?to discuss international and regional issues and cooperation between the regional group and the world?s leading economy.?

?I am not sure if there is going to be a one-on-one meeting with President Obama,? Lacierda said.

ASEAN is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-member political-economic group.

Caretaker unnecessary

Before Mr. Aquino left, he authorized the release to the public of portions of a fact-finding report on the Aug. 23 hostage-taking tragedy at Manila?s Rizal Park, where eight Hong Kong tourists were killed by a dismissed policeman who had held them hostage for 11 hours.

The hostage fiasco exposed the Philippines to international ridicule and confronted Mr. Aquino with the first major test to his leadership.

Vice President Jejomar Binay indicated before Mr. Aquino left that he did not mind not being named government caretaker in the President?s absence.

In a statement, Binay said: ?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.?

Social functions

In a memorandum issued shortly before his trip, Mr. Aquino said Binay would represent him in ?social functions requiring the presence (of the President) and shall preside over all official ceremonies, receive and return the official calls of foreign dignitaries in behalf and in representation of the President.?

Lacierda stressed in a radio interview that there was no intention to slight Binay in not designating him caretaker.

Lacierda said the Cabinet would meet ?as maybe necessary? and this would be called by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. He said Binay, or in his absence, Ochoa, would chair the meetings.

?All communications to the President shall be transmitted through or by the executive secretary,? Lacierda said.

?The trip of the President is the primary reason why we are going on full alert,? the Philippine National Police spokesperson, Senior Supt. Agrimero Cruz, told Camp Crame reporters.

Also on full alert is the PNP force in Mindanao, which was hit two weeks ago by bombings in major urban areas. The Visayas region and the rest of Luzon have been placed under heightened alert.

Full alert status means all police personnel should report to their posts and all leaves are canceled. Heightened alert means half of the police personnel in units covered by an alert status will have to report to their posts. With reports from Christine O. Avendaño, Jerry E. Esplanada, Alcuin Papa and Dona Pazzibugan