Gloria Arroyo drama a distraction in Bali

BALI, Indonesia—President Benigno Aquino III was on the phone with key Cabinet officials on Friday during breaks in a packed schedule here to check on whether or not trouble was brewing in Manila over the arrest of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her hospital suite.

“He was on the phone with the executive secretary (Paquito Ochoa), the justice secretary (Leila de Lima), Press Secretary [Edwin] Lacierda, [Budget Secretary Florencio] Abad, just making sure that the actions on the ground in Manila were proper, legal and coordinated,” Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang told reporters on Saturday.

The calls were made in between subsidiary meetings at the 19th Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit on this resort island, Carandang said.

But Mr. Aquino had far more troubling concerns later because he decided to leave for his hotel after hosting the Asean-US Leaders Meeting with US President Barack Obama at around the same time that news was being broadcast that police were serving the warrant for the arrest of the 64-year-old Arroyo on Friday afternoon.

“There had been stories of people trying to make trouble. I think ever since they got word the cases were being built up, they’d been trying to make trouble,” Carandang explained, apparently referring to the Arroyo camp.

But he was quick to dispel any notion of brewing destabilization.

“I don’t think it rises to that level. But I think it has a lot to do with misinformation, disinformation and, basically, sowing some confusion and trying to undermine the political support for the President. It’s been happening a little earlier than that,” he said.

Otherwise, he added, “everything was under control.”

Despite officials’ claims to the contrary, Mr. Aquino had been distracted by the brouhaha over the Arroyo drama.

He skipped the bilateral meeting with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday afternoon and later the 8 p.m. gala dinner hosted by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and the 10 p.m. tete-a-tete with Filipino journalists.

He earlier missed Thursday morning’s opening ceremony and plenary session of the annual summit of the 10-nation Asean. Carandang stood in for Mr. Aquino at both events.

Carandang explained that the meeting between Asean leaders and Obama ended late and Ban Ki-moon had to leave early so Mr. Aquino decided to skip the bilateral meeting with the UN chief. But Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said Mr. Aquino had to excuse himself on a pressing issue.

As for his absence at the gala dinner, where Asia Pacific leaders, including Obama, showed up in Batik attire, Mr. Aquino explained his no-show to host Yudhoyono.

“He was very candid. He said there were domestic issues that needed to be clarified and dealt with right away, and the Indonesian President expressed to Secretary Del Rosario that he understood very much. That was understandable,” said Carandang.

On Saturday, on the last day of the summit, Mr. Aquino joined subsidiary meetings between Asean and the UN, between Asean and India, the summit of 18 East Asia Pacific nations, including the US and Russia, and the closing ceremony.

He also met with Laos Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, which was on his schedule.

Carandang made the assurance that despite the distraction, Mr. Aquino did all right. “He’s always been able to concentrate. He’s been engaged in the sessions. That’s not been a problem at all,” he said.

Mr. Aquino was scheduled to fly back to Manila on Saturday night.