BANGKOK—President Aquino is scheduled to arrive on Thursday upon the invitation of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva for talks aimed at further strengthening the long-standing ties of their countries.
During his May 26 and 27 official visit, Mr. Aquino will also meet with key Thai business executives, including those from the Charoen Pokphand Group, Siam Cement Group (SCG) and Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) Public Co. Ltd.
He will also hold talks with the Filipino community whose members are estimated to be around 14,000. The three major Filipino organizations in Thailand are the Association of Filipinos in Thailand, with chapters in Chang Mai in the north and Pattaya in the south; the United Filipinos in Thailand; and the Philippine Ladies Group Foundation.
Ambassador to Thailand Linglingay Lacanlale, in a radio interview, said the President’s visit aims to strengthen relations between the two countries. “We have no bilateral problem with Thailand, no political problem, but we have plenty of opportunities for cooperation in agriculture, energy and investments,” she said.
The President, she said, may also discuss the country’s public-private partnership (PPP) for infrastructure development. “This is one of the things he can pursue. There are many Thai investors in the Philippines—in Dusit Hotel, in energy, in food. They have big investments.”
Scheduled to meet first with the President are leaders of the Charoen Pokphand group, led by its chairman and CEO Dhanin Chearavanont, president Adirek Sripratak and senior vice president of Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc. Pinij Kungvankij.
Then he will meet with SCG president and CEO Kan Trakulhoon, vice president for finance and investment Chaovalit Ekabut, vice president for corporate administration Aree Chavalitcheewingul, SCG Paper president Roongrote Rangsiyopash, SCG Building Materials president Pichit Maipoom and corporate planning director Bunn Ksemsup.
The President will also meet with PTT president Prasert Bunsumpun, executive vice president Chavalit Punthong and senior vice president Sarun Rungkasiri.
The President would be accompanied by a 40-member delegation led by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo.
Lacanlale said there is a sensitive issue being whispered about among members of the Filipino community here regarding the visit of relatives from the Philippines, who eventually stay on illegally and look for work here. There are 3,000 Filipino workers in Thailand, mostly teachers and entertainers but the illegals are estimated to be about 10,000.
She said that although Filipino teachers were highly in demand because of their proficiency in English, the Thai government is now requiring some of them to have a more solid basic education.
She said this is one issue they would bring to the attention of the President, because Filipinos only have 10 years of basic education; elsewhere in the world, students have 12 years of basic education.
“The effect of that is that Filipino teachers who want to teach here are given lower salaries, and promotions are slow and more difficult to achieve,” she said.
Lacanlale raised a warning that Thailand is also armed with high-tech scanners that could detect drugs, and many Filipino travelers have already been arrested and are languishing in jail for possessing illegal drugs.
