WEF chief plans to visit Phl next year

NAYPYIDAW – He wants to have fun in the Philippines.

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), is planning a vacation in the country after attending the WEF on East Asia that the Philippines is hosting next year.

Aquino told reporters Friday evening after attending the WEF on East Asia here that he discussed with Schwab the Philippine economy and the country’s hosting of the same event next year.

He said they were not able to talk at length as they were pressed for time but Schwab managed to tell him he wanted to explore the Philippines and not just attend the WEF meetings next year.

When they met, Aquino said Schwab admitted to him that the first time he visited the Philippines was during the time of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

“How do I say it? Senator Bongbong (Marcos) might get mad at me again...but after that he no longer came back. That’s the end of it. It’s up to you to conclude why he did not return,” Aquino said.

“But now when he goes to our country next year, he is planning to have a vacation as part of his trip, beside the forum. So maybe he was also enticed by the campaign of Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez that it’s more fun in the Philippines,” he said.

WEF preparations

Aquino said the country was already preparing for its hosting of the WEF event next year but “I cannot say today we are ready.”

“But by the time we will be hosting it, we will be very ready. And of course, that is only preparatory for the bigger hosting event which is the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit in 2015,” Aquino said.

The President said the meetings, the designation of people, estimate of the expenses and others were continuous.

Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad, who was with the President along with other Cabinet members, said the budget for the WEF hosting could come from contingency funds.

“We will not set up infrastructure just for this event. For instance, the improvement of airports is really for the tourism aspect,” the President said, adding that foreign tourist arrivals in the first quarter increased by 10 percent from last year.