The Senate on Wednesday, July 27 passed a resolution expressing the profound sympathy and sincere condolences of the chamber on the death of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senators Ramon ‘’Bong’’ Revilla Jr., Ronald ‘’Bato’’ dela Rosa, and Joseph Victor ‘’JV’’ Ejercito sponsored the resolution.
Abe was assassinated by a lone gunman on July 2, 2022 in Nara, Japan.
Zubiri expressed his deepest condolences to Abe’s family and wife Madame Abe Akie, as well as to the Japanese people.
“PM Abe was an exceptional leader whose impact is felt not only in Japan, but in our country as well. He was a very good friend to the Philippines and it was under his leadership that Japan and the Philippines were really able to strengthen our bilateral relationship. In fact, by 2015, Japan had become our top trading partner, unseating even the United States,” Zubiri said in his sponsorship speech.
“One trillion yen in assistance over the following five years, including Official Development Assistance (ODA) and private sector investments, and he also led the establishment of a Joint Committee on Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation to monitor the implementation of cooperation projects,” he said in a resolution.
Quoting former President Rodrigo Duterte, Dela Rosa said: “Abe was a good and loyal friend, a staunch supporter of my administration and a strong ally of the nation. As the world mourns the loss of this great man, we remember him for his compassionate service and remarkable leadership. Indeed, one of the most influential world leaders of our time.”
’’As we gather in the halls of this Senate, we mourn the loss of one who was a dear friend, not only to our President, but more importantly to our Republic,’’ Dela Rosa added.
‘’As Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe was able to strike that much-needed balance between formality and friendship. When former President Duterte was elected President, Prime Minister Abe was the first foreign leader to visit the Philippines, surely to strengthen ties between the Philippines and Japan, but also to enjoy the life that our country has to offer – eating bibingka, kutsinta, and durian, adopting a Philippine Eagle and naming it Sakura, and visiting then President Duterte at his home in Davao City and eating munggo soup with him,’’ he said.
Dela Rosa pointed out that during Duterte’s administration, the Philippines and Japan entered the “age of strategic partnership.”
‘’Zooming in on the field of infrastructure, we can rightly say that a huge bulk of the 'Build, Build, Build' program owes itself to our ties with, and the support of Japan,’’ he said.
‘’To lose him is painful to accept, but that we lost him to an assassination is an even more bitter pill to swallow. It might be tempting to succumb to the seeming hopelessness of it all. Napakadaling sumuko at mawalan ng pag-asa (It is easy to surrender and lose hope),’’ he added.
‘’But no, Mr. President. We here at the Senate shall refuse to give up and give in to the darkness of the situation, and instead we shall move forward with hope. We shall choose to remember Prime Minister Abe as the statesman who was also a genuine friend. And in remembering, may we also extend the same diplomacy and friendship to all those that we may encounter along the way,’’ he said.