House Speaker Martin Romualdez played the role of a good host Wednesday, Nov. 23, when Vietnam National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue arrived for his three-day official visit to the country.
Romualdez presented a copy of House Resolution (HR) No. 34--previously adopted as HR No. 571--to Hue during their meeting at the House of Representatives in Quezon City. It was the latter's first destination after arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
“Mr. President, please accept this copy of House Resolution No. 34 as a token of the commitment of the House of Representatives to be a steadfast partner of our Vietnam brethren walking lockstep along the path of mutual peace and development for both our nations,” Romualdez said.
Pictures of the meeting showed the two leaders engaged in warm and at times light conversation as they discussed the decades-long bilateral ties between Philippines and Vietnam.
As a gesture of furthering this friendship, Hue invited Romualdez, who is President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s top legislative ally, to visit Vietnam.
Romualdez is the principal author of HR No.34, with Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan, Senior Deputy Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, Committee on Accounts Chairperson Yedda Marie Romualdez, and Deputy Majority Leader Jude Acidre serving as his co-authors.
For his part, Hue thanked Romualdez and the Philippine lawmakers for their warm welcome as he also stressed the importance of strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries and enhancing trade and economic relations, as well as people-to-people exchanges.
Accompanying the House Speaker in welcoming the Vietnamese delegation were senior Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2nd district, Pampanga), Dalipe (2nd district, Zamboanga City), Libanan (4Ps Party-list), Deputy Majority Leader David “Jay-Jay” Suarez (2nd district, Quezon), Acidre (Tingog Party List), Committee on Economic Affairs Chairperson Gerardo Valmayor, Jr. (1st district, Negros Occidental), Committee on Trade and Industry Chairperson Maro Vittorio Mariño (5th district, Batangas), Committee on Ecology Chairperson Marlyn Alonte (lone district, Biñan), Committee on Appropriations Senior Vice Chairperson Stella Luz Quimbo (2nd district, Marikina), Committee on Foreign Affairs Vice Chairperson Emigdio Tanjuatco III (2nd district, Rizal), Committee on Economic Affairs Vice Chairperson Mikaela Angela Suansing (1st district, Nueva Ecija) and Committee on Accounts Vice Chairperson Lorna Silverio (3rd district, Bulacan), Secretary General Reginald Velasco, and Sergeant-At-Arms Napoleon "Nap" Taas.
In adopting HR 34, the House said: “Among the ten (10) member countries of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), the Philippines and Vietnam have developed a special relation through the years anchored on shared goals, common visions, and mutual interests for the benefit of their peoples and towards a genuinely peaceful and productive path in regional cooperation.”
“As a member of the ASEAN, the Philippines accords great importance to its continuing friendship with the member countries, especially with Vietnam, and views the friendship and historical ties of solidarity and cooperation among the Southeast Asian countries as essential elements to attain peace and prosperity in the region,” the resolution added.
It was during the bilateral meeting between President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. and Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits in Cambodia when the latter announced Hue’s visit to the Philippines.