House Speaker Martin Romualdez (Speaker’s office)

The partnerships between the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) member-nations will be "more crucial than ever" to the future of the region moving forward.

Thus, said House Speaker Martin Romualdez on Saturday, Nov. 25 during his closing remarks at the 31st annual APPF conference or APPF31, which took place at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.

“In the foreseeable future, strong partnerships between APPF member-countries will be more crucial than ever. With an ever-widening array of challenges confronting the region, the strength of our relations is what may be the key factor that will enable us not only to endure but to even thrive,” said Romualdez, the co-chair of the three-day event.

He said the resolutions drafted, deliberated upon, and ultimately adopted during the forum “hold great significance".

“But what I deem to be of perhaps even greater value were the relationships that we were able to forge and strengthen, and the partnerships that we were able to establish between and among our respective parliaments.

"In this sense, we were truly faithful to our theme this year – ‘Resilient Partnerships for Peace, Prosperity and Sustainability’,” the Leyte 1st district congressman said.

Romualdez said that while the APPF members may have some divergent views, "In truth, these are far outnumbered and outweighed by the things we hold in common and the areas and opportunities for mutual collaboration and growth which together we can vigorously pursue.”

“Indeed, we do not live in denial that there are contentious issues which require our collective resolution. But as long as we remain committed to engage with one another in a spirit of respect, dialogue and cooperation, there is always hope,” he told the delegates.

There were 267 participants in the event, which ran from Nov. 23 to 25. A total of 158 members of parliament from 19 countries attended the conference in person.

They proposed 37 resolutions that were consolidated into 10, which the assembly adopted.

“Collectively, we were able to discuss and deliberate substantially upon a wide range of urgent regional concerns, and in the end, we were able to adopt worthwhile resolutions that can help our region to attain much higher growth and stability,” the Speaker said.

Romualdez says the Philippines considers it a privilege and an honor to host the 31st edition of the APPF.

"We hope that even in such a short period, we may have been able to share with you what is best in our Filipino culture and that you do consider coming here again,” he told his regional peers.

He said hosting the conference also gave the Philippine delegation the chance to rally support for three major proposals: the country’s bid to be a member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), amendment of the APPF rules to include young parliamentarians in the group’s annual meetings and the Philippines’ offer to serve as headquarters of the APPF secretariat.

The House leader thanked the participants “for giving due consideration to our initiatives".