Palace laughs off reports of a US trip for GMA

Malacañang literally laughed off claims by certain political opposition leaders that President Arroyo is set to embark on an official trip to Washington DC.

Palace officials led by Press Secretary Milton Alingod and Palace protocol chief Ambassador Lingling Lacanlale simply expressed their surprise yesterday over such reports.

"There is no such thing (as a state visit to the US) at all," Lacanlale told The STAR. "It is not even talked about so how can they (opposition) make such a tale?"

There were speculations that Mrs. Arroyo is supposedly mulling on a possible trip to the US to help in the re-election campaign of US President George W. Bush by eliciting support from the large Filipino-American communities there.

The President’s trip will purportedly appease Washington following the displeasure of the US government over the decision of the Philippine government to pull its humanitarian contingent out of Iraq in an effort to stave off the possible execution of Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz.

De la Cruz has been held hostage by Iraqi militants demanding the withdrawal of the Philippine contingent from Iraq by July 20.

The rumors came in the wake of the Palace-imposed "news blackout" on the developments in the hostage crisis to prevent a repeat of the premature announcement last Saturday of the of De la Cruz’s supposed release.

The rumors were apparently fueled by the two successive visits of US Ambassador to Manila Francis Ricciardone to Malacañang last Tuesday and Wednesday immediately after the decision to pull out the troops from Iraq. — Marichu Villanueva