Seventeen years since his last visit, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco finally made his way back to Palawan.
Upon the conclusion of the State Lunch hosted by the President in Malacañang Palace last April 7, the Prince quietly slipped out of the capital for a six-day visit to explore Palawan: from El Nido to Puerto Princesa to Tubbataha Reefs to Cagayancillo and, finally, to Amanpulo.
I had a chance to catch up with His Serene Highness for a brief interview before he flew back to Nice from the Philippine Air Force Base in Puerto Princesa on the royal Falcon 7x trijet. During the interview, Prince Albert II shared his admiration of our management of the Tubbataha Reefs, his appreciation of the overseas Filipino workers based in Monaco and of his newfound “family” in Palawan.
RJ LEDESMA: Your Highness, what were your fond memories of the Philippines during your first visit to the country in 1999?
HSH PRINCE ALBERT II: My first trip was a really complete visit. Aside from Manila, I also visited Subic Bay and the surrounding areas, Corregidor and the International Rice Research Institute. But I had some downtime as well. I had my first visit to Amanpulo, which is also where I spent the last day of this trip. I have very fond memories of that first experience and I don’t know why it took me so long to come back here. (Laughs)
Having said that, I was very happy with this official visit (to the Philippines). We were able to not only enjoy the hospitality extended by President Aquino, but also to discover these beautiful (Tubbataha) reefs. Tubbataha is a really a very precious gem you have in terms of both marine biodiversity and terrestrial biodiversity as there is a Bird Island there. There are a lot of different species in Tubbataha that require attention. I think it’s a very special place and is well deserved as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Of course, the reef needs constant attention and to be protected in the right way.
After your visit to Tubbataha, I understand that you now have some family in the area?
(Laughs) Our Palawan visit was done in conjunction with the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco. We were filming our dives to bring more attention to the role of marine-protected areas around the world. There’s a program that the Institute and my Foundation (Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation) have whose objective is to better survey and follow the patterns of navigation of different species of turtles, including where they eat and spawn.
As part of this program, we had an agreement with the Tubbataha Reefs park rangers to capture two turtles — one male and one female — from different species and place a transponder on them. I even helped with sanding down the shell of the first turtle to put the transponder on it.
Mr. Robert Calcagno (the CEO of Monaco’s Oceanographic Institute) asked me if the male green turtle could be named after my son Jacques and the female hawksbill turtle named after my daughter Gabriella. So there are two turtles named after my family members in the Sulu Sea. So please take care of them! (Laughs)
I’m sure the Palawenos appreciated your love for their province, so much so that your visited them again after 17 years. But didn’t you want to explore other parts of our country as well?
Sure, sure! I would love to visit them at another time. But I think this visit to Palawan was significant because of our desire to showcase Tubbataha as a World Heritage site and an example of good governance for a marine-protected area of its kind. It’s important for Tubbataha to be an example for other parts of the world
Did you find any major differences with the country since your last visit?
There are a lot of changes to the capital city Manila that are fairly obvious — it appears more built up to me — although I didn’t get to see everything. But I think the overall mood in the Philippines is fairly upbeat. I think your country is developing in a very interesting way and I wish all of you the best for the future.
We were very happy that we were able to help out with the relief efforts after Typhoon Haiyan and we will always try to be by your side for these unfortunate events. And as we said in our discussion with the President, part of the Memorandum Agreement that we signed (at Malacañang), we are happy to collaborate with the Philippines on projects involving the economy, environment and culture.
There are a lot of Filipinos who work and reside in Monaco. How are they being received by Monegasques?
We have a wonderful Filipino community that contributes significantly to our economic and social fabric. We are extremely happy to have them in (the Principality). They have been outstanding members of our community and we hope to continue having them there in the future.
Lastly, when will you come back to the Philippines?
I can promise you now that it won’t be 17 years! (Laughs)
The Prince taking in the breathtaking sites of El Nido
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