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 Aug. 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.
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.
The Chinese business group said that it expected Arroyo's visit to lure more investments to the Philippines with the scheduled business meetings between the Philippine delegation and Chinese businessmen.
The president's office said after the Sichuan visit Arroyo will fly to Beijing on Thursday afternoon and fete the 15 Filipino athletes participating in the Beijing Olympic Games. Presidential Management Staff Chief Secretary Cerge Remonde said at a Tuesday's press briefing that that the President's attendance in the opening of Olympics is part of her official obligation as one of the 80 heads of state invited to the event.
Arroyo will end her three-day visit on Saturday after touring the Olympic Village and meeting with the Filipino community in Beijing.
The Philippines has not yet won an Olympic gold during its participation in the Games since 1924. The last time the Philippines got a medal was in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
The country's 15 athletes to Beijing will compete in boxing, taekwondo, shooting, archery, diving, swimming, athletics and weight-lifting. Boxer Harry Tanamor and taekwondist Mary Antoinette Rivero are considered the country's best chances to bag a goal in Beijing.
The administration has just raised the Olympic incentive to 15 million pesos (340,909 U.S. dollars) for any Filipino athlete who gets a gold medal in Beijing.
Gracing part of the 37-member Beijing-bound Philippine Olympic delegation to Beijing in the presidential palace for a send-off party last Friday, Arroyo said the government has decided to set aside an additional 4.5 million pesos (102,272 U.S. dollars) as Olympic bonus to lure the country's first Olympic gold. " Congratulations and good luck, but the important thing is for you to win," Arroyo said.