MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. left for Indonesia and Singaore on Sunday, the first state visits of his presidency, and said he expects to bring home "a harvest of business deals" that will help the Philippines recover from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apart from meeting with state officials, the president is expected to spend time with members of the Filipino community in those countries to discuss government programs to protect Overseas Filipino Workers.
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Marcos, speaking at a send-off at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, said the trip is part of a series of state visits "to once again put the Philippines in a position where we have strong alliances and strong partnerships" to face the post-pandemic economy.
The president will be in Jakarta on September 4-6 and will meet Indonesian President Joko Widodo to discuss better bilateral ties and witness the signing of agreements on defense and security and on creative economy and culture. Also to be signed is a five-year plan of action for the Philippines and Indonesia on joint projects and activities.
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"We will also be seeking the partnership and the help of our friends in Indonesia for investment in the areas where we see they can be of assistance like in agriculture and in energy," Marcos said as he noted that Indonesia has been an ally and bilateral partner for the past seven decades.
The president is set to fly to Singapore, where more than 200,000 Filipinos live and work, after his visit to Indonesia.
Marcos said Singapore has become the Philippines' top trading partner in Southeast Asia and the top source of approved investments in 2021. His state visit will include economic briefings, business forums and meetings to seek more investors and to find buyers for Philippine exports.
"I expect that we will be coming back with a harvest of business deals to be signed in my state visits that will further strengthen our economic ties with both Indonesia and Singapore," he said. The deals will help with food supply and prices and with the "long-term plans for our energy [and] emergence in the global economy."
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Meetings with Filipinos abroad
Marcos said the trips would include meetings with members of the Filipino community in Indonesia and Singapore, where he will "share with them our commitment and plans for enhancing the government's efforts to protect the rights and ensure the welfare of our overseas Filipinos."
The president made no mention of the request by parents of detained overseas Filipino worker Mary Jane Veloso for him to ask Indonesian Presient Widodo for executive clemency on humanitarian grounds.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo during an appopriations hearing with the House of Representatives earlier this week said that Marcos will "most likely" raise Veloso’s case with Widodo during the trip.
Veloso has been convicted and sentenced to death over heroin found sewn into the lining of her luggage in April 2010. Her execution was stayed in 2015 after the Philippines argued that she could testify in human trafficking cases against her recruiters, whom she said were behind the drug smuggling scheme.
“Ang anak po namin na si Mary Jane ay napilitang lumabas ng bansa upang maghanapbuhay na bitbit ang pangarap na makaahon kami sa kahirapan at mabigyan ng maayos na buhay at mapag-aral ang kanyang mga anak,” her parents said on Friday.
(Our daughter was forced to leave the country to earn a living, bringing with her our dream of getting out of poverty as well as giving her children a good life and a good education.)
In his remarks on Sunday, Marcos said of Overseas Filipino Workers that the country is "always so proud of them" as he thanked Indonesia and Singapore for welcoming Filipino workers to their countries.