Spain's Queen Sofia visits P-Noy

MANILA, Philippines - Queen Sofia of Spain, who is in the country for a five-day visit in connection with the week-long celebration of Philippines-Spain Friendship Day, paid a courtesy call on President Aquino in Malacañang Monday night.

The queen received a warm welcome from the President and several members of the Cabinet.  

She signed the Palace Guest Book, where visiting heads of state affix their signatures. Queen Sofia had a private meeting with Aquino, who later hosted a dinner in her honor at the Rizal Hall.

June 30 is celebrated as Philippines-Spain Friendship Day.

The queen will be going to Legaspi City today to witness the unveiling of the statue of Jose Maria Peñaranda, the first governor of Albay, at the Peñaranda Park.

Queen Sofia will also visit the Camalig Evacuation Center for Natural Disasters in Camalig town, the maternity ward at the Emergency Center and the Annex Building of the Josefina Belmonte Duran Memorial District Hospital.

The two centers were funded by the Agencia Espanola de Cooperacion Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID) or the Spanish Agency for International Development and Cooperation.

The queen will unveil the commemorative marker of the Climate Change Academy at the Bicol University also in Legaspi City.

She will have lunch with Albay Gov. Joey Salceda and mayors of several towns in Albay province at Hotel Oriental.

Queen Sofia will be going to Zamboanga City tomorrow to check on housing project sites in Kalambuan, Katilingban and Kalinaw, also funded by AECID and managed by Spanish non-government organization Manos Unidas and local NGO Zabida under Fr. Angelo Clavo.

Zamboanga Mayor Celso Lobregat will host lunch for the queen after the unveiling of the commemorative marker at Fort Pilar Museum.

She will also visit Don Pablo Memorial High School, a pilot school for the reintroduction of the teaching of the Spanish language in the Philippines. The queen’s itinerary in Manila includes a visit to the National Library, National Museum and the University of Santo Tomas.

Some 3,500 Spanish residents in the country will have an opportunity to meet Queen Sofia at a reception that the Spanish embassy will host for her.

Queen Sofia arrived in Manila Monday along with Alberto Virella Gomes, Spain’s Assistant Secretary for Development Cooperation for Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe, and 13 other Spanish government officials.

She and her delegation will leave on July 6 on a Thai Airways International flight for Bangkok.