MANILA, Philippines – Luisa Kristabel “Abbey” Manliclic won’t watch the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama on television. Unlike most of her peers, she has the rare chance to see the swearing-in of the first Black-American president right in the US capital.
Abbey, a Filipino exchange student in Arizona, is one of the lucky Filipinos invited to Washington when Obama takes his oath from Chief Justice John Roberts on the steps of the Capitol on January 20.
“I feel great, it’s like a chance of a lifetime,” Abbey said in an interview with GMANews.TV. “He’s the first Black-American president so the event would be nothing short of great.”
The 17-year-old Youth for Understanding scholar was chosen for being an exemplary student at the Mohave High School in Bullhead city in Arizona. Abbey’s father, Abel, a Manila-based businessman, said he feels proud of her daughter’s accomplishments.
But like any excited parent, Abel gave a few instructions to his daughter before she meets with the president.
“I told her it might be impossible to take a picture with her and Obama, “Abel told GMANews.TV, “So she should take a picture with his wife, Michelle instead.”
But Abbey has a plan of her own. In case she bumps into the president, the straight-A student wants to ask a few questions from the world’s most powerful man.
“I want to ask him how he would deal with the economy and the war,” she said.
Aside from Abbey, two more students from the Philippines have reserved slots for the historic oath-taking in Washington.
College freshmen Paul Michael Thomas Cruz and Anna Marie Liwanag have been invited to the inauguration of America’s 44th president later this month.
The two were selected for the honor by the University Presidential Inaugural Conference (UPIC) for their exemplary performance during the Global Young Leaders Conference (GYLC) in Washington and New York in 2007 while they were still high school seniors at Reedley International School in Manila’s suburb of Pasig.
However, the travel expenses amounting to $4,000 or about P200,000 each will not be paid for by the conference that granted them the invitation.
“Right now I’m raising funds. I’m writing letters to different people and trying to look for sponsors,” said Liwanag. GMANews.tv
