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Is this for real?
“Sources in Los Baños, Laguna, say that billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates visited the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) on Wednesday morning, April 8,” reports InterAksyon.com.
The report noted: “Sought for comment, neither Microsoft Phillippines nor IRRI would confirm Gates’ presence in the country. A check with sources in the aviation sector, however, confirmed that a private jet with registration number N887WM, and tied to Gates, was in the country, and had flown into Manila from Puerto Princesa, Palawan. The plane supposedly arrived in Palawan as early as April 4.”
According to InterAksyon.com’s sources, “from the Puerto Princesa airport, Gates and his entourage reportedly boarded a turbo-prop Islander that flew them to an exclusive island-resort in Palawan.”
Then, as the report went on to say, “On Wednesday morning, Gates flew to Manila via an Islander plane.”
INterAksyon.com’s sources sources in Laguna then related that “Gates flew by chopper from Manila to Laguna, on what was billed as a ‘top secret’ visit to one of the laboratories at IRRI.”
The same sources said that “Gates was in IRRI for at least two hours and was likely consulting with IRRI on the latest developments in rice research.”
Another source, however, said his plane, a US-registered aircraft (N887WM), later followed to Manila and was seen parked at the Asian Aerospace Hangar in the General Aviation Area of NAIA.
The report went on to say that “Immigration sources confirmed he and his group arrived in the country last April 4 and are expected to fly out late next week.”
Gates, of course, is co-founder of tech giant Microsoft Corp. He last visited the Philippines in 1998.
