MANILA, Philippines - US President Barack Obama has included the Philippines in his Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) tour, and he is expected in Manila Oct. 11-12, the two governments announced yesterday.

Manila will be Obamaâ€™s last stop. It will be his first visit to the Philippines.

His ASEAN swing starts Oct. 6 at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leadersâ€™ Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, followed by the US-ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit (EAS) in Brunei. He will also meet with Prime Minister Najib Razak in Malaysia.

The Philippines has been disregarded by the US when its bases were shut down in the Philippines during the administration of President Aquino's mother, Corazon Aquino.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said over dzRB radio yesterday that they could not disclose the complete agenda of Obamaâ€™s visit scheduled on Oct. 11-12 even as the Philippines and the US were working on an agreement to increase rotational presence of American forces in the country.

The US statements on the West Philippine Sea have also been consistent with the Philippine position to seek a peaceful resolution of the dispute involving China and Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines.

Valte said the full details of the visit would be announced as soon as they are finalized.

She said the hostilities in Zamboanga City would not affect preparations for the visit set a long time ago.

Moro National Liberation Front forces took the city under siege to press for various demands as they claimed they were being left behind in the peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Valte said the government was doing everything to end the siege without harming civilians.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Obama would visit the Philippines upon the invitation of Aquino.

Lacierda said Aquino and Obama would "discuss ways to further strengthen the enduring Philippines-US alliance including the expansion of our security, economic and people to people ties."

Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Cuisia Jr. said the visit to Manila "is an opportunity for President Obama to personally witness the economic transformation in the Philippines that was engendered by President Aquino's good governance agenda."

"We are optimistic that in their discussions, President Aquino and President Obama will identify new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation in the areas of defense and security, trade and investment and broader people to people ties," he added.

It was US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel who first announced the upcoming visit of Obama when he came here last month.

Hagel said the US has no intention of establishing permanent bases in the Philippines, only increased rotational presence.

He said it was in the interest of the US to expand strategic partnership with the Philippines and it would be up to Manila to speak of the advantages of this to its country and people.

Obama's trip also coincides with his administration's so-called pivot to Asia, Washington's effort to rebalance its strategic priorities to the Asia-Pacific.

"I spoke with the President and he is very much looking forward to his trip to Southeast Asia and I know that the White House is preparing for that and his meetings. There's a lot to discuss," Hagel said in a press briefing in MalacaÃ±ang last August after a meeting with Aquino.

The trip will be the eighth visit of an American president to the Southeast Asian nation.

Obama is the seventh US leader to visit the Philippines, according to data from the US State Department.

President Aquino went on a two-day official visit to Washington in June 2012.

Protests readied

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) secretary-general Renato Reyes said protests are being readied for Obama's visit.

"The Manila visit could mean that the framework agreement for increased rotational presence and defense cooperation with the US is already a done deal. The agreement could be signed anytime soon, or even during Obama's visit. This sets the stage for US de facto basing in our country, in violation of our Constitution and our sovereignty," said Reyes.

"Last month, during the visit of US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, the US dangled an Obama visit to Manila as an added incentive for President Aquino to speed up negotiations for the access agreement. The US has not even paid a single cent to the Philippine government for the destruction of the Tubbataha Reef yet here is the Philippine government welcoming more US warships to enter our waters," he said.

The framework agreement will reportedly allow US forces to access Philippine faculties not limited to Clark and Subic. â€“ With Jose Katigbak (STAR Washington Bureau), Pia Lee-Brago, Rhodina Villanueva