MANHATTAN, New York - President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is scheduled to speak before the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September on his first official US trip, according to the Philippine trade secretary.

As of posting time, there was no word yet if Aquino will meet US President Barack Obama.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Gregory Domingo was in New York to lay the groundwork for Aquino’s visit.

“I think he is excited to visit but he wants to limit his foreign trips because of his promise not to spend too much of the people’s money. So he is very conscious about the expenses,” Domingo said.

Earlier reports said Aquino was eyeing 2 foreign trips abroad this year. This is in keeping with his promise to limit unnecessary travel to foreign countries.

“If I go to the US, I will be bringing home a lot of good news. Klarong may iuuwi sa taumbayan,” he said in the report.
 
Aquino said he received recommendations to take 8 trips overseas this year. However, the president said he has yet to decide which of the 8 trips he needs to take.

According to Aquino, the President usually attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders’ summit. This year's summit will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam in October.

The Philippines is a member of the 10-member regional group, which includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.

Aquino also said that he will have "minimal" entourage in his trips abroad.

Meanwhile, Domingo is putting together trade agreements that could be signed during the President’s US visit, possibly on call center outsourcing and electronics.

Despite moves in US Congress to limit the outsourcing of call centers, Domingo is confident that American companies will continue to outsource part of their businesses to the Philippines.

“In order to be competitive, companies are almost forced to outsource,” Domingo said. “But if you’re competing with global companies outside the US, outsourcing is almost a necessity.”

The Philippines earns about P9 billion annually from outsourced call centers. The call center industry employs about half a million Filipinos. Balitang America