President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to pay last respects to Cory on Wednesday; Arroyo time's visit unclear yet

Posted/Original/Published By: STARtriga.blogspot.com via Ging Reyes

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MANILA - President Arroyo will pay her last respects to former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino who succumbed to colon cancer early Saturday.

According to Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Mrs. Arroyo will arrive in Manila on Wednesday, the scheduled internment of the late president.

It was not clear though if Mrs. Arroyo will proceed to the Manila Cathedral once her plane lands at 5 a.m. or if she will attend the burial at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque.

Mrs. Arroyo was in Washington DC when Aquino passed away last Saturday. She immediately declared a 10-day period of national mourning from August 1 to 10. Mrs. Arroyo also declared August 5, the day of Aquino’s burial, as a special non-working holiday to give the Filipino people the chance to honor the late president.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the president is “very sincere about her condolences”.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Arroyo also ordered an investigation, following the revelation of Aquino’s youngest daughter, Kris, that the government pulled out the security detail of her mother while she was still alive and battling colon cancer.

Ermita clarified that the security assigned to Aquino was not totally recalled but temporarily returned to its mother unit.

Remonde, who was with the First Couple in the US, said the news about the pullout has “taken us by a complete surprise”.

“We would like to apologize to the Aquino family for anguish or concern it has brought them. It was never intentional on our part,” Remonde said, adding that the president already ordered an investigation into the incident.

“In fact we have asked the Armed Forces of the Philippines for an explanation over what happened and the initial one was that it was just a bureaucratic slip up,” he said. -- With Ging Reyes, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau Chief and Balitang America