Noy in Bali to co-chair democracy forum

BALI – President Aquino will co-chair here today the 7th Bali Democracy Forum (BDF) that will be attended by other leaders in the region.

Aquino will be conferred the highest state medal of honor by Indonesia on the sidelines of the conference.

Aquino was expected to arrive here last night on a chartered Philippine Airlines flight with a small delegation and stay at the Nusa Dua Beach Hotel and Spa.

It will be his fifth visit to Indonesia, and most likely the last time he will meet Indonesian leader Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as president.

Yudhoyono, who founded the BDF, is expected to step down from office on Oct. 20 and will be succeeded by Indonesian President-elect Joko Widodo.

Also attending the BDF, which has the theme “Evolving Regional Democratic Architecture,” are Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

The BDF will be held at the Bali International Convention Center.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said

Aquino will speak at the conference to share the country’s rich experience in achieving democracy.

“As the son of democracy icons – the late senator Benigno ‘Ninoy} Aquino and the late former President Corazon Aquino – President Aquino can truly be an inspiration to other heads of states and governments and the rest of the participants,” he added.

The government has set aside around P7.1 million for Aquino’s participation in the forum, Ochoa said.

The amount earmarked for the trip covers expenses for transportation, accommodation, food, equipment and other requirements of the Chief Executive and his 47-member delegation.

Aquino left Manila yesterday afternoon on a Philippine Airlines chartered flight.

He was accompanied by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, Presidential Management Staff chief Julia Andrea Abad, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda and presidential protocol chief Celia Anna Feria.

Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Maria Rosario Aguinaldo said the embassy has recommended to Jakarta that Aquino co-chair the forum with Yudhoyono.

“When President Aquino became president, it became more important for us to get him here because he is the son of two icons of democracy and he himself has proven to be a person pursuing the democratization process or the democracy process of the Philippines in a way that we have not seen before,” Aguinaldo said.

She said there would be no bilateral meeting between Aquino and Yudhoyono but the visit will further strengthen relations between the Philippines and Indonesia.

Aguinaldo said the two countries have enjoyed close relations for decades and have recently signed an agreement delineating their respective exclusive economic zones.

At around 3 p.m. this afternoon Yudhoyono will confer on Aquino the Bintang Republik Indonesia Adirpurna (Star of Republic of Indonesia), an award conferred on persons who have rendered “extraordinary service of integrity, viability and greatness of Indonesia.”

Aquino will be the first Filipino to be conferred the award.

Aquino is scheduled to depart Bali at around 5:30 p.m. and is expected to arrive in Manila at around 9:20 p.m. – Delon Porcalla