President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s top ally in the legislature sounded upbeat Tuesday, Nov. 15 over the Philippine leader’s upcoming participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Meeting in Thailand later this week.
This, as House Speaker Martin Romualdez gave perspective to the APEC meeting in light of the just-concluded 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related summits that Marcos attended.
“The APEC Summit is a step up because there are more developed countries involved,” Romualdez said during his post-birthday lunch with House reporters.
APEC is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member-economies in the Pacific rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam comprise APEC.
Romualdez, Leyte’s 1st district representative, stressed the importance of personal engagements and developing close relations with leaders of other countries or economies.
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"We are very fortunate to have a very able statesman of a President that’s very popular indeed in the international community," he said of Marcos.
“So I think now is the time to herald that the Philippines is doing well, its economy is doing well, and now is the time to invest in the Philippines so that we get more foreign direct investments for the capital that we need to generate more jobs for and livelihood for the Filipinos and to bring about a stronger and more vibrant economy so that all Filipinos have a safe and comfortable life,” he added.
Romualdez accompanied the President during this year's ASEAN Summit, which was hosted by Cambodia.