Malacañang is walking on a fine, thin, line with its announcement that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is once again packing her bag for another globe-trotting adventure.

Seemingly oblivious of the barrage of criticisms that came their way over the recent US trip, the footloose Revered Resident of the Palace by the River is again going scheduled to leave for the Big Apple to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

Lest I be misconstrued here, I am not saying the Palace officials are a bit of a masochist — the tendency to invite and enjoy misery of any kind, especially in order to be pitied by others or admired for forbearance. The thing is, they have yet to recover from the lavish dinner fiasco and here they go again.

Oppss!

Footloose, indeed, as the New York trip comes close to three other excursions: Libya, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and London. This time, Palace spin doctors are making sure that all fronts are covered, justifying for the sake of its detractors, that such journeys are permissible.

Sure, not everybody is invited to speak before an audience organized and sponsored by the London-based ‘The Economist‘ magazine forum. As a student of economics and diplomacy, participating in such a gathering widens one’s perspective of the global situation.

Honestly, though, I’ve seen and heard the President address an international forum and she holds her audience with her knowledge of various issues. In Davos, Switzerland last year, participants listened intently on her speaking how the country upholds women’s rights.      

Gee, am I sounding like a Palace apologist here?

Lean and mean

A couple of days from now, our footloose leader leaves for Libya. That would be her 73rd offshore sojourn and still counting as the Big Apple comes close, then, off she goes to Saudi Arabia and finally, London.

Whew!  Trans-atlantic trips are physically exhausting!

As opposed to the two others, the Saudi Arabian expedition is actually a state visit, which means that the government of the oil-rich nation is footing the bill for the Revered Resident of the Palace by the River and her entourage.

Taking a cue from their lapses, the Palace spin doctors are leaving no stones unturned to ensure that everything is “a bit” transparent. Oh, there are many of them… but how they messed-up in explaining the Le Cirque, Bobby Van’s dinners. Maybe the reason why they bangled. . . as the saying goes, too many cooks spoil the broth!) are making sure that everything is a bit transparent.

But, how transparent can it really get?

From what we heard from the spin doctors, Malacañang promised it will no longer be what we might call the biggest travel agent in the country — as in. . . come join the government and see the world. This time around, the presidential delegation will be mean and lean, composed mostly of the economic managers. How about the rest of the entourage? I am referring to the second liners here — a contingent of presidential security group as well as the battery of staff assigned to lay the ground works for the visit in each country?

The jaded in me, meanwhile, is skeptical and believed otherwise. ‘til our next filibustering.

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