Parañaque City Representative Edwin Olivarez met with Guam Visitors Bureau President Carl T.C. Gutierrez on Friday, Aug. 18, to discuss visa waivers for Filipinos to Guam, and other issues concerning the United States-Philippines relations. 

In a courtesy visit at his congressional office at the Parañaque City Hall, Olivarez and Gutierrez, who was a former governor of Guan, talked about the potentials of fulfilling a visa waiver policy for Filipinos to and from Guam. 

Olivarez said part of his legislative activities in the 19th Congress was being a co-author of House Resolution No. 00332, urging the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to request the president of the USA to include the Philippines in the U. S. Department of Homeland Security’s Guam-CNMI (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) Waiver Program.  

This is part of the bipartisan Philippine-Friendship Caucus (PFC) that exists between the two nations, which aims to address issues of mutual benefit to both the USA and the Philippines, including Medicare portability, the Filipino Veterans Fairness Act, and others.

Olivarez, who is the chairman of the Committee on Government Enterprises and Privatization, is pushing for the bill to escalate from the Lower House which is still pending with the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

 “This caucus and house resolution counterpart will be beneficial to the cities of Parañaque and Guam,” Olivarez said. 

“Yes. This will be a good relationship for our countries," said the Chief Advisor to the Governor of Guam - Economic Development, National and International Affairs. 

The visit and meeting of Gutierrez with Olivarez was also part of strengthening the sister-city relationship of Paranaque and Guam. 

Mayor Eric Olivarez exchanged  updates on their cities’ progress on current projects and visions and plans for the future with the offficals from Guam.