Arroyo, Aquino to visit U.S. for separate events (3:00 p.m.)

MANILA -- Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will be in New York from September 20 to 23, the same week where President Beningo "Noynoy" Aquino III is slated to attend the U.N. General Assembly.

Arroyo will be attending the 5th Conference of Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) and the 5th Most Important Dinner for Women.

Among the invited guests for the CGI are U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, Haiti Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, Liberia President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and former U.S. First Lady Laura Bush.

Jordan Queen Rania Al Abdullah initiated the dinner where issues on children and women empowerment under the Millenium Development Goals will be discussed.

"These are important occassions for the aspirations and causes of Arroyo in the achievement of the MDG goals in the Philippines, particularly in her district, by 2015," said Arroyo's spokesperson Elena Bautista-Horn. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)