Two days before embarking on her first foreign trip since assuming office last Jan. 20, President Arroyo prayed at the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Shrine in Antipolo City, asking for a safe and fruitful visit to Malaysia and lasting peace in the country.
Accompanied only by her security escorts, the President attended yesterday the 11 a.m. holy Mass officiated by Fr. Reynante Tolentino. She was welcomed by Antipolo Bishop Protacio Gungon, Rizal Rep. Victor Sumulong and local officials.
Before the start of the Mass, Fr. Tolentino introduced Mrs. Arroyo to the parishioners, saying it is laudable for her to give priority to her Christian duties despite her heavy workload.
The priest said that just like any other person, the President had come to Sunday Mass to ask for God’s guidance and intervention in helping overcome the country’s problems.
"It is heartening to know that the President of the Republic is right here among us. She is an economist, an expert in business and she joins us here in prayer for the country," Tolentino said.
"She turns to God for guidance in solving the problems of the nation," he said.
Mrs. Arroyo received at the end of Mass the priest’s special blessings for her state visit to Malaysia this week. Afterwards, she met with churchgoers and shook hands with them.
She was then ushered into the parish office to offer her special intentions at the original image of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage (Nuestra Señora dela Paz y Bien Viaje), estimated to be at least 400 years old.
Mrs. Arroyo is scheduled to leave tomorrow at 6:25 a.m. for a three-day state visit to Malaysia.
In an interview with Malaysian journalists in Malacañang, the President said the revival of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) would be one of the main topics she will discuss with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad when they meet in Kuala Lumpur.
The BIMP-EAGA was set up in 1994 at the initiative of then President Fidel Ramos with the support of Mahathir.
It comprises the entire Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam; 10 provinces in the Indonesian islands of Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku and Irian Jaya; Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan in Malaysia; and Mindanao and Palawan in the Philippines.
Also to be discussed in the context of the growth area is the establishment of a gas pipeline that would link the four countries.
Mrs. Arroyo said part of her campaign to promote the BIMP-EAGA concept is through tourism and cooperation in other economic activities.
She said she will be exploring the possibility of having additional flights from Kuala Lumpur and other points in Malaysia to Davao and discuss investment opportunities with Malaysian businessmen, especially ventures in palm oil.
The President said the Philippines would like to open up for investment promotion some 160 hectares devoted to palm oil in Mindanao.
One of the unofficial members of the delegation to Kuala Lumpur is an undersecretary of agriculture and president of the Philippine Palm Oil Association.
The Philippine delegation already has specific Malaysian businessmen targeted for that kind of investment promotion.
"If they come to some agreement, we will be very happy; if not, the task will continue even beyond my visit," Mrs. Arroyo said.