Obama, Clinton congratulate President-elect Aquino
US President Barack Obama and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton congratulated Philippine President-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III Thursday, a day after the latter’s proclamation at the House of Representatives.
In a press statement issued by the White House Office of the Press Secretary, Obama made a phone call to Aquino Thursday morning to congratulate him personally.
The US President hailed the May 10 Philippine elections as “a model of transparency and positive testament to the strength and vitality of democracy in the Philippines.” He also noted the “deep historic and people-to-people ties between the US and the Philippines and the two countries’ strong cooperation on security and economic issues in the Asia Pacific region and globally.”
The White House said the two leaders agreed to take the cooperation between the two countries to a new level and to meeting at a “mutually convenient” time.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also congratulated Aquino, saying the “successful election exemplified the vitality of the country’s democratic institutions and should be a point of pride for Filipinos everywhere.”
Some 4 million Filipino-Americans are living in the United States while more than 100,000 Americans currently reside in the Philippines. (PIA-Bohol)
