Manila tour offers chance to meet the Philippine president

Filipino-Americans now have a chance to reconnect with their roots through the Philippine Consulate General-sponsored “Ambassadors and Consuls General Tour 2006.”

Philippine Consul General Wilfredo Maximo said yesterday that his office has partnered with Century Travel Agency, Inc. to come up with this tour of the Philippines to give Filipino-Americans and those interested in visiting the Philippines a chance to see several spots of interest in Manila. The trip is slated from July 13 to 22.

Maximo said the tour is actually intended for Filipinos born and raised in the CNMI or the United States to reconnect them with their heritage. The highlight of this program is a chance to meet Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the Malacanang Palace in Manila.

“This is also open to those who want to have a vacation in Manila,” said Maximo.

The tour will only cost $360 per person for a twin-sharing room hotel accommodation. The price includes the three-night hotel stay, a Metro Manila City tour, breakfast and other activities that would surely provide memorable moments, according to Century Travel Agency Inc.

The $360 fee does not include the roundtrip airfare, taxes, airport terminal fee, gratuities or tips for the tour guide or driver for the tour.

Deadline for registration is on May 15. A nonrefundable deposit of $100 per person, payable to Century Travel Agency Inc., is due upon registration.

The itinerary for the guests will include VIP lei reception and assistance at both Immigration and Customs counters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. An aircon tourist bus with guide will bring participants to Makati to check-in at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel and the New World Rennaissance Hotel.

The tourists will also have an option to join a tour of the Makati Central Business District and The Fort. “Tiangge” and an Expo will also run throughout the duration of the Basic Tour that inlcudes: shops for Philippine attire, handicraft, and exquisite jewelry and a chit-chat with experts on “Pasarap, Paganda, Pasaya, at Pangkabuhayan packages” [health and wellness, medical tourism, and entrepreneurship].

They will also have an exciting and unique tour of Intramuros with Lights and Sound Museum Tour, Fort Santiago, “Bahay Tsinoy”, National Museum of the People, the Gold Exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum, the American Cemetery, and the “Libingan Ng Mga Bayani.”

The visitors will also proceed to Rizal Park for a wreath-laying ceremony and a visit to the Malacanang Palace and its museum.

A tour at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Mall of Asia and a visit to the “Gawad Kalinga” Village to help rebuild a community will be the last stop for the tourist.

For more information, contact the Philippine Consulate Office at the 5th Floor, Nauru Building in Susupe at 234-1848 or 234-1850 or through fax at 234-1849 or e-mail the office at saipanpcg@pticom.com.

You may also contact Century Travel Agency Inc. at the ground floor of the CIC Centre along Beach Road, Garapan, at 235-3708 or fax 235-3711 or e-mail the office at arlene_almero@centurytravelagency.com.