Chairman's Press Statement
As we are about to conclude today the 31st Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum hosted by the Senate and House of Representatives, I am happy to inform that everything is going on smoothly and according to what we have planned. No major untoward incident or issue has come up, even in the discussions in the different committees. Our Philippine Senators and Congressmen who are chairing the different committees are doing a great job in steering the discussions in their respective committees. Proof of this, is that, all the 10 resolutions endorsed by the working groups have been adopted in the Drafting Committee which will then be endorsed to the Final Plenary to be part of the Joint Communiqué to be adopted or issued as the final document of the 31st APPF. 10 Resolutions were endorsed and all 10 were adopted by the Drafting Committee. It was a perfect score, a reflection of the amazing job put in place by the respective chairs and co-chairs and of course the active participation of all delegates from the 19 countries represented.
These are the resolutions on the following matters:
1. Strengthening the Capacity of Parliaments to Promote Peace
and Stability
2. Korean Peninsula
3. Combatting Transnational Crimes
4. Rethinking Critical Infrastructure
5. Enhancing Regional Cooperation on Climate Action,
Biodiversity Conservation, and Disaster Risk Reduction
6. Human Capital Development and Inclusive Growth
7. Regional Cooperation through Education and Culture
8. Regional Cooperation on Universal Health Care in the Asia-
Pacific
9. Gender and Sustainable Development Goals
10. Women’s Participation and Leadership
Other than the adoption of these resolutions, we were able to lobby for our bid for a seat in the United Nations Security Council for the period 2027-2028 and we secured firm and new commitments from the countries we have approached, in fact some of them even wrote us to formalize their commitments. This is a big achievement not only for our hosting of the APPF but also for the administration of President BongBong Marcos which shows that the main branches of government are collaborating and working in unison for our national interests. Malaking bagay po na masecure natin na makakuha ng seat sa UN Security Council lalo na’t may mga kinakaharap tayong problema sa West Philippine Sea.
In the next two hours, we will hold the Final Plenary Session to adopt the resolutions endorsed by the drafting committee and convert these into a Joint Communiqué to be signed by the Head of Delegations of the countries represented. Ang Joint Communiqué po ang final document na output in every APPF.
Modesty aside, masaya naman po ang lahat ng mga foreign delegates sa ating hosting ng 31st APPF at sinasabi din nila na we raised the bar in APPF kaya’t mahihirapan daw na higitan ng susunod na host ang ginawa natin ngayon.
Kaya’t gusto ko ring magpasalamat sa mga tumulong at na-involve sa ating hosting ng 31st APPF, mula sa ating Co-Chair, Speaker Martin Romualdez, the Head of the Philippine Delegation Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Head of Poltical and Security Matters, Co-Head Cong. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales, ang ating Drafting Committee Chair Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, Sen. Pia Cayetano (Plenary on Womens Parliamentarians), Sen. Francis Tolentino (Regional Cooperation), Sen. Win Gatchalian (Trade and Economic Matters), Sen. Mark Villar (Plenary on Young Parliamentarians), and many Senators who sat in the Philippine delegation, Sen. Nancy Binay, Sen. Robinhood Padilla, Sen. Imee Marcos, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada (Co-Chaired the Political and Security Matters), and all the Senators and Congressmen who attended the proceedings and activities in the last three days.
After our work today, ipapasyal naman natin sila bukas sa Manila – National Museum area at Tagaytay na kung saan i-hohost sila ni Sen. Tolentino sa Tagaytay.
So I can poudly say na matagumpay ang hosting ng Philippine Congress ng 31st APPF at napalakas natin ang ugnayan sa mga bansang dumalo. Umaasa tayo na masusundan ito ng maraming follow-up bilateral meetings and parliamentary exchanges upang maisakatuparan ang mga commitments na nagawa natin sa paghost ng APPF. Kaya’t maraming salamat din sa ating mga kababayan na sumubaybay at sumuporta sa napakahalagang pagtitipon na ito. Marami pong salamat at Mabuhay!