Arroyo makes surprise visit to PSE - report

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo made an unannounced visit to the Philippine Stock Exchange in Makati City two days after a deadly mall explosion and Wall Street's decline triggered a drop in Philippine share prices. Radio dzBB reported that Mrs Arroyo arrived at about the time the opening bell rang at 9 a.m. The report said the President wanted to personally have a glimpse of the day's market activities. President Arroyo's visit to Philippine Stock Exchange also comes on the eve of the resumption of the Senate investigation into the $329.4-million ZTE controversy. For Wednesday morning, Mrs Arroyo was scheduled to inaugurate the Southern Luzon Hospital and Medical Center in Sta. Rosa City in Laguna at 10 a.m., then attend launching rites of the Compressed Natural Gas Project in Biñan, Laguna at 11 a.m. Philippine share prices plunged almost 4 percent last Monday amid surging oil prices and concerns over the October 19 explosion at the Glorietta 2 shopping mall that left 11 people dead and over 100 injured. Analysts said the sharp drop in the stock market was also due to losses suffered by Wall Street over the weekend. Alberto Lim, executive director of the Makati Business Club, said in an earlier interview that he is expecting investors to be "temporarily" uncertain of the economy because of the explosion. Last Tuesday, President Arroyo went shopping and visited the blast site at Glorietta 2. - GMANews.TV