Pinoys in Japan to give Aquino Y1-M check for ‘Yolanda’ victims

MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III will first meet with the Filipino community in Japan this week before attending there the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Japan Commemorative Summit.

According to the Presidential Communications and Operations Office (PCOO) website, the Filipinos in Japan will present to Aquino a check worth Y1 million or about P426,000 for victims of Super Typhoon “Yolanda.”

The meeting between Aquino and the Filipinos in Japan is scheduled for Thursday afternoon at the Large Hall of the Arts Building of the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center.

It is scheduled right after the arrival of the President and his delegation from Manila.

The scheduled meeting comes ahead of the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit, which the President will attend.

The PCOO said the President will pursue closer ties between the Philippines and Japan during his visit there.

Aquino is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister to discuss various issues, including both nation's territorial disputes with Asian neighbor China.

Read: PNoy open to talks, defense treaty with Japan amid China

The President will also receive a courtesy call from Dr. Sadako Ogata, the former president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency president and now an advisor to the institution's new head and to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Aquino will also meet with a delegation from the Sumotomo Mitsui Banking Corp., and witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding for an 850-room retirement community in Cebu City, the PCOO said.