Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romula has arrived in Burma for a three-day visit expected to focus on the country's lack of progress toward democratic reform.
Romulo is to meet Senior General Than Shwe and other senior officials in Naypyidaw.
It is not clear if he will meet with detained pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Nobel Peace laureate leads Burma's opposition National League for Democracy, which won parliamentary elections in 1990, but was never allowed to take power.
Aung San Suu Kyi has spent most of the past 16 years under house arrest.
Burma's military government has promised to institute democratic reforms, but there have been few signs of change.
Last month the Philippines took over the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The group also includes Malaysia, Burma, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam and Brunei.