Zubiri, Romualdez hold press conference at parliamentarians' forum
Zubiri, Romualdez hold press conference at parliamentarians' forum
Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri answer questions from the media at a press conference of the 31st Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023.
The two discussed tackling the resolutions to respect the 1982 UNCLOS and following international rules-based order, transnational crime, and other resolutions
Video by Red Mendoza
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Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri answer questions from the media at a press conference of the 31st Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023.
The two discussed tackling the resolutions to respect the 1982 UNCLOS and following international rules-based order, transnational crime, and other resolutions
Video by Red Mendoza
Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe
Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net
Follow us:
Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook
Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram
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Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital
Check out our Podcasts:
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Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcher
Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein
#TheManilaTimes
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Sir may we ask, parang walang malinong na panggit about West Philippines here at least yung arbitral ruling, ano po ang basically, one soundbite actually sir, anong nilalaman no resolution natin about promoting peace and stability sir?
00:16 Well, if I may Mr. Speaker, it's to strengthen the capacity of parliaments. You know these exchanges between countries, itong ginagawa po natin na forum na ito, parang palaksin po natin ang mekanismo, parang kung may konting gusot sa ati mga bansa, ay kami na mismo mga member ng parliamentarians na iba ng mga bansa na nagkakaroon ng gusot,
00:44 ay kaya na po namin ayusin, pag-usapan, hanapan ng solusyon itong mga problema ito. I think that is the theme of these resolutions. We're not the only one who sponsored this, actually Japan, Mexico, Australia and the Philippines, all of us filed similar resolutions.
01:06 And what we want of course is peace and stability in the region to promote growth and prosperity for all. Kaya hindi naman nailagay dyan ang mga specific problems katulad ng ating problema sa West Philippine Sea or arbitral ruling kasi gusto po natin na katanggap-tanggap ang resolution sa lahat ng aming mga kasamahan.
01:30 Walang botuhan dito sa forum na ito with the APPF. Ito po ay consensus building. So kailangan may consensus po ang lahat ng mga parliaments about a particular issue.
01:41 Syempre kung inalagay po natin yung issue on the West Philippine Sea dyan, sigurado po may aalma, baka may magalit, and hindi po tayong makakuha ng consensus. What we're trying to do is to get consensus from all member states.
01:58 Of course that does not change our position. My position on the issue is still very strong. As the President said, not one inch of territory but at the same time we are friends to all and enemy to none.
02:10 So that is the position. Another resolution also filed by Indonesia which basically tackles the maritime situation in the South China Sea, West Philippine Sea is a resolution on maritime security.
02:26 So filed by Indonesia. They're all now in the drafting committee and will be debated in the working groups. So you are free to observe. May mga meeting po mamaya. I think the schedule is this afternoon with Sen. Batod de la Rosa, asama po niya ang mga congressmen and other senators that will be debating on these topics and issues.
02:50 So at the end of those debates, they will now send a draft to the drafting committee. Sen. Loren Legarda together with Congressman Defensor now will shift to all the draft resolutions and try to fix wordings to make it acceptable to all.
03:10 So yun po ang magyayari. Respect to each and every country. And I have to put this on record, we are very happy that China came with a big delegation. Even the President had met with the President of China in the APEC with the Speaker.
03:28 So dialogue should always be there. Constant dialogue and discussions on how we can come up with a common stand on how we will treat one another in the South China Sea, West Philippine Sea issue.
03:42 So we're happy that their delegation has come to the Philippines. They could choose not to come, but they came. And therefore we should accept them with open arms and we should discuss with them like senior and seasoned parliamentarians on how we can resolve the issue maybe once and for all.
04:02 Just how far are you willing to push na manatili yung wording ng UNCLOS or are you willing to compromise just to get the consensus and take it out at the end of the day, sir?
04:16 I think as the Chairman is suggesting, it's premature to suggest any particular position or what we will take. We will have an open mind, but obviously as I earlier outlined, we will definitely be very, very much in the position of confirming our previous positions as already stated.
04:38 We even highlighted in 1982 the declaration of a peaceful settlement of disputes, the Manila Declaration, confirming all peaceful means for settling disputes in accordance to Chapter 6 and Article 50 of the UN Charter so that we resort to judicial procedures including arbitration, especially when it comes to disputes concerning the UNCLOS.
05:02 That's a very, very major facet of the whole issue at hand. But not to digress, our relations, especially multilateral relations, are not fixated on one particular issue.
05:18 In fact, we use this forum to explore other facets of our relationships, not just, let's say, with China with respect to the concerns of the West Philippine Sea. There are other issues that involve China. We have trade, we have financial engagements, we have cultural, sports. We have many other facets of the relationship that we'd like to build upon.
05:43 As the President says, let us not let one issue define the total relationship. There's more to it vis-Ã -vis the relationship with China and with the other countries.
05:54 So we try to use this forum as an opportunity to look for common ground, common interests where we can leverage upon, for those long-hanging fruits for which we can drive and achieve success, confidence-building issues to bring countries closer, to foster friendship and deeper mutual understanding of one another. And then we can tackle the more contentious issues at hand.
06:21 I'd like to ask, if there are resolutions that will be highlighted regarding current global issues, like for example, Israel-Hamas war and other global issues, are there resolutions that will be highlighted here at the ATTF?
06:38 Under our rules, it should be submitted two months before the forum. So these incidents happened earlier, closer to the forum date. So we didn't receive any resolutions about these issues.
06:59 So it might be taken up on a personal level later on, but definitely it's not part of the resolutions that were filed two months ago.
07:09 And lastly, Speaker SP, of course, our countrymen are watching. What are the benefits of the ATTF forum to Filipinos, especially those who are struggling? What are the benefits of the ATTF? Maybe we should clarify the resolutions of the ATTF. What are their effects on the countrymen?
07:33 Well, first of all, let's focus on tourism. Without looking at the structure of the ATTF, having 350 delegates, or all in all, 275 members of parliament visiting here, it's almost their first time in the Philippines.
07:53 So of course, if our hosting here is good, they will go home and tell their other parliaments that the Philippines is beautiful, very progressive, very kind, that's why Filipinos are loved by the world.
08:11 So earlier, over lunch, they said Filipinos are very popular when it comes to the entertainment, food, and cooking. In the hotel and restaurant industry, they themselves say that they have a very productive Filipino workforce in their country.
08:31 So in terms of tourism and promoting the country, this is, I'd say, a very, very important forum for all of us. Number one. Number two, we do a lot of trade missions in different countries. And we're trying to get free trade agreements, FTAs, with these countries.
08:51 So it's very important that we be strong in their parliaments because they will be the ones to give these free trade agreements with our government. So it's important. Why?
09:03 Because our farmers will be able to export pineapples, bananas, mangoes, durians, etc. Now we can export to China, we can export to Korea, Japan. It will be easier for us to export our products to other countries because of our leadership of their parliaments.
09:21 What will happen is that they will be the ones to promote us and to push in their parliaments to come up with closer ties with the Philippines. So it's very important that we are good hosts. We have to be very good hosts.
09:37 At the end of the day, when they go home, they have to come home smiling.
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