Executive Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita said the President will push through with her official visit to Hong Kong for the 10th Asian Investment Conference (AIC) at the end of the month.

Ermita said the President has expressed optimism that she could temporarily leave the country because efforts to destabilize her government were likely to diminish further after Lent. The tentative schedule of Mrs. Arroyo’s Hong Kong visit is from March 30 to April 1.

"The President knows the overall situation and, therefore, she is very confident that this somehow will continue to stabilize and whatever efforts at trying to do otherwise will not be as intense as what had been in the past two weeks," Ermita said.

"We are not expecting that there will be continuous efforts at trying to destabilize the situation," he added.

Ermita said anti-government groups were unlikely to surpass their rally in Makati City last Feb. 29, attendance of which police estimated at 10,000 protesters.

He also expressed hopes that government critics would be enlightened during Lent and heed the President’s call for national unity for peace and progress.

"It is Holy Week, that is why there is very much lower or no political activity. Let us hope this will continue after everyone realizes that there is a need for us to band together to prop up the condition of the country and our people for the better," he said.

Mrs. Arroyo will be one of the keynote speakers of the AIC, a private sector investment event organized by Credit Suisse, from March 31 to April 3.

She is expected to speak on the emerging opportunities for investors and measures being taken by her government to attract investments.

Around 1,500 investors and almost 300 of the leading companies in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to attend the investors’ forum at the Island Shangri-La Hotel and Conrad International Hotel in Hong Kong.

The President will hold separate meetings with Hong Kong government leaders, businessmen, and the Filipino community.