STATE VISITS. Everytime a President leaves the country to make state visits to other countries, some people would immediately shake their heads and count the cost of such visits. But a political economics observer (an economics professor in Manila visiting Cebu) calls such reaction to presidential state visits "senseless."
WORK. In a talk with an Ear informer (also an economics professor) this Manila-based economics observer said: "Presidents must work and going on state visits is work. A President who just stays home and answers political critics to save travel cost has no right to lead."