‘Fil-Ams still go to RP despite crisis’

WASHINGTON — Many Filipino Americans are coming to the Philippines despite the political crisis to get a chance to meet President Arroyo and to tour the country’s various attractions.

Confident that they would be safe here, 516 Filipino-American tourists are visiting the land of their birth next week.

"They have great confidence in terms of the manner in which the tour has been organized and there have been no questions brought to me with regards to safety .... they will have an enjoyable, interesting and safe trip," said Ambassador to Washington Albert del Rosario.

Filipino Americans from across the United States will start leaving for Metro Manila over the weekend in more than 10 different flights accompanied by senior Filipino diplomats.

The initiative, brainchild of the embassy in Washington and the 11 Philippine consulates general in the United States, aims at enhancing the image of the country as "a safe and exciting destination for travel."

The initiative was supported by a number of travel agencies which offered to fly the consuls general free of charge provided they were able to attract a required number of participants to the July 13-19 tour.

Among the consuls general included in the trip is Cecilia Rebong of New York, who has come under fire from various quarters in the Philippines for living in a $10,000-a-month, two-bedroom apartment at Trump Tower in Manhattan while her official residence is undergoing renovation.

Billed as the "1st Ambassadors/Consuls General tour of the Philippines," the exercise would hopefully be held on a regular basis and also involve Philippine embassies in other countries where there are significant numbers of Filipinos, Del Rosario told a press briefing on Friday.

Del Rosario is leaving ahead of time to personally greet the tour participants in Manila.

Cost of the tour package differs according to the point of origin and activities of the participants.

From Washington DC for instance, the cost of the basic July 13-15 package is $1,494 per person which includes roundtrip airfare, transfers between airport and hotel, two-night hotel accommodation and a tour of Manila.

In addition there are out-of-town tours from July 15-19 such as the Laguna Bay loop package costing $450 per person, the Boracay/Corregidor tour ($523 per person), the Palawan holiday tour ($542 per person) and the Cebu/Bohol tour ($680 per person).

The highlight of the visit to the Philippines will be a meeting with Mrs. Arroyo.

A trade and investment fair will also be held to allow participants to explore investment opportunities in the Philippines.