Phillippines asks for economic aid

WASHINGTON -- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo gets a grand reception Monday at the White House, a meeting with President Bush and a state dinner. It's payback for her loyal support of the fight against international terror, but she wants to take home more than memories.\nArroyo is asking the United States for economic aid, trade concessions and money to combat terrorists.\nFor Bush, the state visit offers an opportunity to join another ally in a "victory lap" over the U.S.-led military success in Iraq, said Catharin Dalpino, an expert on U.S.-Asian relations at the Brookings Institution.\n"With the bombings in Riyadh and Morocco, we're going to see some charges that the Bush administration was not paying proper attention to the war on terrorism when it was focused on Iraq," Dalpino said. "This is a way for the Bush administration to signal that yes, they are."\nArroyo was among the first world leaders to call Bush and express condolences after the Sept. 11 attacks. Arroyo and Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong of Singapore were the only two Southeast Asian leaders to support the U.S.-led war in Iraq, and she expelled two Iraqi diplomats after Bush asked U.S. allies to do it. The Philippines has sent a 175-member humanitarian mission to postwar Iraq.\nSingapore's Goh visited Washington last week and signed an agreement that would wipe out tariffs and other trade barriers on about $33 billion in annual trade and give U.S. banks and companies more access to one of Asia's main financial centers. Now it's Arroyo's turn.\nBesides Bush, during her visit she is scheduled to talk with Secretary of State Colin Powell and members of Congress, meet with representatives from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, give a speech at the U.S.-Asean Business Council and receive an honorary degree at Fordham University in New York.\nShe's seeking duty-free privileges for Philippine products, such as dried mangoes, pineapple juice and tuna. Arroyo also wants to see Philippine businesses get reconstruction contracts in Iraq and is trying to lure U.S. companies to invest in operations on the islands.