Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
FORMER Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will be on island for a two-day visit. She will be the guest of honor in the LPK Cup, a soccer tournament that will be held at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville on Thursday, July 18.
On Friday, July 19, she will be the guest of honor at a private luncheon hosted by Tan Holdings Corporation at Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan. An electronic invitation to the event has been sent to select Saipan residents.
Macapagal-Arroyo, who is a member of the Philippine House of Representatives, first visited Saipan in the mid-1990s as a senator.
This time, she will be accompanied by her husband, Jose Miguel “Mike” Tuason Arroyo.
According to a media release, Macapagal-Arroyo is the honorary chair of the Tuloy Football Club, one of the four teams that will be competing in the LPK Cup.
The three other teams seeing action in the LPK Cup are Shonan Bellmare from Japan, Chelsea FC Soccer School from Hong Kong, and the NMI Women’s National Team.
Tuloy FC competes in the pro Philippine Football League and its players — both males and females — have played for the Philippine National Team.
This Thursday, at 4 p.m., Tuloy FC will take on Shonan Bellmare.
On Monday, Tan Holdings Corp. CEO and President Jerry Tan welcomed the members of the Tuloy FC women team at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport.
Macapagal-Arroyo’s “presence on the island is a testament to the strong relationship between the Philippines and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and their willingness to experience and embrace each other’s unique cultures and traditions,” a media release stated.
A former vice president and House speaker, Macapagal-Arroyo has a Ph.D. in economics and held teaching positions in several schools, including the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University. She served as Philippine president from 2001 to 2010.
