Marcos Jr. thanks DFA for ‘quiet, professional’ work on agency’s 125th anniversary Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday thanked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for doing the legwork needed to make his trips abroad successful, noting that those working in diplomacy have been “very quiet” while working on “very difficult, sometimes extremely complicated” issues. Marcos Jr. gave the statement during a Malacañang luncheon for DFA officials in celebration of the agency’s 125th anniversary. “I am very very happy to be able to stand here before you and say that thanks to your very hard work, very skilled work, the great experience that you bring to bear, these trips that you have taken have been quite successful because they have been so well put together,” the President said. “When I get there I am properly briefed, I have good information, maayos ang takbo, all I have to do is make papogi to everybody because you did the legwork for me already,” he said. “For that, I hope you realize how appreciative we all are for the very difficult, sometimes extremely complicated and always quiet work that you do,” he added. Marcos Jr. noted that he has observed the DFA’s “quiet” service even during the administration of his father, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. “Having traveled a great deal with my mother when she was First Lady, and myself for many other things, I have a very clear idea of how much work is done by our foreign stations and the people that inhabit those foreign stations, and how much you are expected to do with sometimes very little,” Marcos Jr. said. “That’s why when I see these trips we have been taking, when I see the preparations, how professionally they are done, and how professionally the conduct of these visits go on with the guidance that I get from our diplomats, the different ambassadors, all the con-gens (consul generals), the people in each of the stations, I always feel very well equipped and I always feel that i’m lucky to have that kind of support that is professional,” he said. Marcos Jr. has embarked on 13 trips abroad since rising to power in mid-2022. These include state visits, attendance to international forums such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as trips to social events like King Charles III’s coronation in London and the Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more