The President will have a private audience with His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, and a meeting with His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal Sodano, Secretary of State of the Vatican. She will visit the crypt of the late Pope John Paul II who will always be remembered as the Pontiff who visited the Philippines many times. She will share some time with the Filipino community in Rome by hearing mass with them at the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore.

The President will also meet with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. In their meeting, she is expected to discuss bilateral concerns, including the welfare of the many Overseas Filipino Workers in Italy and economic and cultural exchanges.

From Italy, she will proceed to Spain for a two-day official visit. There, she will begin by meeting with the members of the Confederacion Española de Organizaciones Empresariales (CEOE), the organization that represents the biggest employers and industries in the Kingdom. She is expected to promote opportunities for investment and increased trade between the Philippines and Spain during the meeting.

President Arroyo will have a private audience with Their Majesties, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia. She will also meet with Spanish President, His Excellency, Jose Luis-Rodriguez Zapatero, to discuss bilateral issues and sign a number of new cooperation agreements. The last day of the President’s stay in Spain will be capped by a Fil-Hispano Friendship Day reception.

We wish President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and First Gentleman Atty. Jose Miguel Arroyo and their delegation bon voyage and a successful official visit to Italy, Vatican, and Spain.