President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and several other foreign leaders were evacuated by helicopters from here after anti-government protesters forced the postponement of a major Asian summit in Thailand, reports said on Saturday. Arroyo boarded a civilian helicopter which landed on the roof of the plush Royal Cliff Beach Resort Hotel in Pattaya, the scheduled venue of the 14th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits, Philippine officials said. Arroyo was airlifted to a nearby military base, news agencies said. Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said Arroyo and her seven top aides who came with her to Thailand were unscathed when more than 1,000 protesters stormed the hotel where they were billeted. “She is okay. The president has seen a lot of these things,” Remonde told Manila-based journalists by telephone from Thailand. “The summit has been canceled,” he confirmed, adding that the protesters caused panic among the Asian leaders. Remonde said Arroyo remarked that “it's good that this did not happen when we hosted the (ASEAN) summit,” referring to the meeting of Asian leaders in Cebu City in January 2007, which also took place amid calls for Arroyo's resignation. Remonde said the protesters broke into the press center and warned journalists gathered there to leave immediately. He said the foreign delegates were caught by surprise and wondered why Thai security forces surrounding the summit venue were not able to stop the protesters. With the cancellation of the summit, Remonde said Arroyo will fly to Dubai, United Arab Emirates – her next scheduled foreign mission – a day ahead of schedule. Nine Asian leaders, including Arroyo, were already at the summit venue when trouble broke out. GMANews.TV earlier reported that Arroyo was supposed to hear Easter mass in Thailand at 4 P.M. at the Royal Cliff Grand, one of the four buildings of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort Hotel complex. Fr. John Tamayo, a Salesian missionary born in Hagonoy, Bulacan, was supposed to officiate the mass. Tamayo, 57, has been in Thailand since 1975.
