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Philippine president to visit China quake victims

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-05 22:47

MANILA - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to visit China's quake-hit Sichuan Province to console families of quake victims on Thursday before she leaves for Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on August 8, the Philippine government announced Tuesday.

The president will leave at Thursday dawn for Chengdu, capital of the southwestern Sichuan Province, as her first stop to " commiserate with the earthquake victims" in the upland city which she first visited in June last year, a press release issued by the office of Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said.

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The province was devastated by an 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12 and nearly 70,000 people lost their life in the quake.

After meeting with Sichuan provincial officials, Arroyo will be motoring to Dujiangyan, one of the most devastated areas hit by the killer quake, and visit the shrine built in memory of the earthquake victims. She will visit the resettlement site for the victims and present Philippine-made goodies to the children who survived the disasters, the press release said.

Arroyo is among the heads of the state around the world who expressed condolences to Chinese President Hu Jintao immediately after the quake hit Sichuan.

"We share in the suffering of our Chinese brethren. On behalf of the Filipino nation, we reiterate our heartfelt sympathies to the earthquake victims," Arroyo was quoted by local media as saying when she attended the Sino-Philippine Friendship Day celebration held in Manila this June.

Arroyo said she believes the Chinese people, under the leadership of President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, will recover swiftly from this tragedy, rebuild their lives and march on towards greater progress.

The Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) on late Tuesday expressed elation over the president's visit to China, saying it will boost Sino- Philippine relations.

"We express our full support to Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's visit to China to further strengthen the diplomatic and economic ties between the Philippines and China," said the FFCCCII in a statement.

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