BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – President Aquino III motored to this highland city Wednesday afternoon almost unnoticed by city residents as well as tourists who have flocked here for the holidays.
On supposed “purely private time”, even Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan said he doesn’t know what the president's schedule is in the city. Aquino will return to Malacanang before the Rizal Day celebrations.
“We do not know of any official engagement,” said a staff member of the Office of the Press Secretary-Philippine Information Agency.
Nonetheless, the Baguio City police are on alert both because of the president's presence at The Mansion and the rising number of tourists flocking the city resort. A
platoon of crowd dispersal personnel was temporarily stationed at a police precinct at the Pacdal Circle, just a few meters away from the official President’s home in Baguio City.
Aquino motored here from his family’s home province Tarlac supposedly with Cabinet Sec. Jose Almendras Wednesday afternoon and maintained a low-key presence. - Artemio Dumlao