Former president Arroyo back from HK sans fanfare

MANILA, Philippines—Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Hong Kong with her husband Tuesday evening without any fanfare. Fellow passengers acted as though they didn’t know she had flown in on the same plane.

A smiling former President, now a Pampanga congresswoman, emerged on the NAIA Terminal 2 escalator in a white sleeveless tunic and black pants behind her husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, who wore a black shirt and black pants.

Their Philippines Airlines flight from Hong Kong touched down at 8:01 p.m.

The Arroyos look every inch like normal passengers, and other passengers did not notice that the former President was walking alongside them.

A male passenger remarked, “Why are there media here?” He noticed the former President from a distance a short a while later.

Arroyo declined to give any statement to members of the pres,s who tried to elicit some comment from her.

“Hello, hi,” was all she said.

The Pampanga representative was quickly escorted by airport officials—airport personnel said there was no advance word she was arriving—and members of the Presidential Security Group into the Dignitaries’ Lounge, where she stayed for at least 10 minutes with her husband.

A check with NAIA records showed that Arroyo left on Sunday aboard PAL flight PR 306.

Lina Pelia, chief of the Bureau of Immigration’s airport operations center, said the NAIA had not been given notice that Arroyo was to arrive Tuesday.

“When I checked with the terminal heads, there seemed to be no notice that she was to arrive,” Pelia said in a phone interview.