MANILA, Philippines – LOOKING forward ang gobyerno ng Pilipinas para pag-usapan ang mga hakbang sa Palau upang itaas ang labor agreements sa pagitan ng dalawang bansa.
“‘Our long history of mutual support has remained a cornerstone of our bilateral relationship to this day. With Filipinos making up a significant percentage – I understand it’s now 25 percent. We are a good Catholic country. You know, we believe in multiplying. Their contributions to Palau’s economy and society highlight the benefits of our long-standing people-to-people ties,” ayon kay Pangulong Marcos sa isinagawang bilateral talk kasama si Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr.
”So, in this regard, the Philippines looks forward to discussing concrete steps to advance our negotiations on bilateral labor agreements and the social security agreement with the hope that both agreements will be concluded within the year,” ang sinabi naman ni Whipps.
Si Whipps ay nasa Pilipinas para sa kanyang two-day official visit.
Sa kabilang dako, binanggit naman ni Pangulong Marcos na naglunsad ang kanyang administrasyon ng Philippine Pacific Initiative para patatagin ang nakatutok na kooperasyon kasama ang pasipiko sa larangan ng kalusugan, food security, labor mobility, at disaster risk resilience mitigation at management.
Ito aniya ang mahalagang hakbang tungo sa ‘greater collaboration’ sa tinatawag na ‘Pacific kin’ ng Maynila.
”With bilateral health agreements on the horizon with various Pacific island countries including, of course, Palau, we are positive that they will yield more exchanges between our healthcare workers and ultimately greater health resilience in our region,” ang tinuran ni Pangulong Marcos.
Umaasa naman ang Chief Executive mapalalawak pa ang mga pakikipag-ugnayan sa ‘practical and impactful ways’ mula sa agrikultura at pangisdaan tungo sa ‘development at technical cooperation.’
Para naman kay Whipps, sinabi nito na masaya siya sa presensiya ng mga Filipino sa para sa kanilang kontribusyon sa bansa.
”We are grateful for all that they do in the development of our young nation, from engineers to doctors to accountants to nurses, and helping us in the tourism sector, and of course, most importantly, construction and helping us build our bridges and our hotels and everything else,” ayon kay Whipps.
Samantala, pinuri naman ni Whipps ang Pilipinas para sa pagho-host ng Loss and Damage Fund para tugunan ang epekto ng climate change. Kris Jose
