Aquino, Cabinet members arrive in California for Asean-US Summit

MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III and members of his Cabinet arrived in California on Monday morning (Tuesday afternoon Manila time) for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations - US Summit hosted by US President Barack Obama.

The Philippine delegation consists of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Trade Secretary Adrian Cristobal Jr., Economic Planning Secretary Emmanuel Esguerra, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras and Climate Change Commissioner Emmanuel de Guzman.

A senior protocol from the US State Department, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr. and Consul General Leo Herrera Lim welcomed Aquino and his delegation at the airport.

Aquino is scheduled to attend the first retreat session of the ASEAN-US Summit this afternoon. The first session bears the the theme "Promoting an Innovative, Entrepreneurial ASEAN Economic Community."

The president will then attend the working dinner that Obama will be hosting.

READ: Obama welcomes Southeast Asian leaders to US for talks

The second retreat session on the following day will revolve around "Protecting Peace, Prosperity, and Security in the Asia-Pacific." After the second session, the leaders will pose for their official family photo opportunity.

The summit is the first standalone meeting between the US and Southeast Asian nations held in the United States. It will be held at the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage.

Aquino will head to Los Angeles for a working visit after the summit. He is set to address the Los Angeles World Affairs Council at the Intercontinental Hotel.

The president will also meet with the top executives of three big Los Angeles-based companies during his working visit. He will meet with officials of Walt Disney International, Western Digital Corporation, and AECOM’s Enterprise Growth Solutions.

The Filipino community in Los Angeles is looking forward to Aquino's visit in the area.

"Our kababayans in the US and I are looking forward to welcoming him once more to the United States. We’d like to wish him a successful visit," Cuisia said in an interview with Radio Television Malacañang.