Government scrambling to get Bush to visit

The Arroyo administration is said to be moving heaven and earth for a visit from US President George W. Bush, who is set to conduct a six-day Asian tour this month.

Bush is set to visit Japan on Feb. 17 and Korea on Feb. 19 before proceeding to China on Feb. 21, sources in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

But the DFA sources, requesting anonymity, said Malacañang is burning the lines to have Manila included in Bush’s itinerary in a bid to boost the country’s image before the international community.

"It would work better for the image of President Arroyo. It will be a plus for her. It’s always a plus for any country to be visited by a US president," said one source.

But the diplomats said Ambassador to Washington Alberto del Rosario would have a tough job cut out for him since there is barely a week left before Bush’s Asian trip.

"(But since) China will be the last leg of his Asian tour, why not drop by for an overnight visit or even a few hours? Beijing is just a few hours from Manila anyway," another source said.

The Palace is optimistic Washington would honor the last-minute invitation because of Mrs. Arroyo’s strong support for the US-led international coalition against terrorism, the sources said.

The Philippines was among the first countries to condemn the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on New York and Washington DC. She then pushed through with a trip to Japan despite perceived security risks to make a point against international terrorism.

Mrs. Arroyo also immediately offered to make available the country’s air and sea ports to US planes and warships which may be en route to the US military operations in Afghanistan last October.

She paid an official visit to the United States last November and returned to New York earlier this month for the World Economic Forum and an international road show for the privatization of some local energy facilities.

The sources said the President also feels she has taken a lot of political flak for the joint RP-US military exercises which have been called by Western media as America’s "second front" against terrorism.

A visit by Bush after his trip to China would also be timely since the actual war games, which allows US military advisers to "observe" local combat operations, would have started by then, the sources added.

Relations between Manila and Washington have warmed significantly under the Arroyo and Bush administrations after cooling down for several years since Manila shut down US military bases in the country in 1992.

Diplomatic ties improved after Manila ratified in May 1999 the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that allows US forces limited access to Philippine territory.