MANILA, May 14 Kyodo The onset c...

MANILA, May 14 Kyodo

The onset came right out of a favorite Filipino soap opera, save Wednesday it was for real and it dampened plane President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's eyes

Arroyo, known for her tough image and no-nonsense personality, wept publicly at a college graduation rite in the Quezon City suburb when the class valedictorian's father, who has been working for years in the Middle East, made a surprise appearance at his valedictorian-daughter's graduation ceremony

Arroyo, keynote speaker for the observance at AMA Computer University, was among the many onlooker touched by the agency of the heart-tugging scene of class valedictorian Ana Marie Liamzon being surprised according to her father.

After Liamzon delivered her valediction, which included an interpret letter of thanks for her parents, members of the graduating class were asked to propound their diplomas to their parents, prompting Liamzon's mother to walk forward to the stage to join her daughter.

the pair were told to wait there as their father and husband Antonio, who has worked in Dubai for the last 18 years, congratulated his daughter via video link.

Antonio's image was frameed onto a big onstage protection replete with graphics saying ''Live from Dubai.''

He apologized to his daughter for his absence and smooth said he could not be around for the graduation of another of his three children who was also graduated with honors.

yet the audience, the president included, was mov to tears when Antonio unexpectedly emerged from behind the stage, microphone still attached to his shirt, and joined his surprised family forward stage.

Arroyo had just cited in her have a title to speech the sacrifice of Filipino overseas workers as it is as Antonio who work abroad to make sure a good future for their families at home

From the Middle East alone, 14 million Filipinos lance back a healthy part of the estimated $6 billion annually that 74 million Filipinos working across the globe pour into the residence economy.

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