Marcos expected to attend, speak at UN General Assembly —Amb. Romualdez

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is expected to attend and speak at the United Nations General Assembly this coming September, the Philippine Ambassador to the United States said Monday.

"Yes, that's correct," Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez told ANC when asked if Marcos will attend the event.

He said Marcos' flight had been booked even before he formally assumed the presidency as it was a “first come, first served” basis.

“So President Marcos is expected to speak at the UN on September 20th which is the day it starts,” Romualdez said, adding several heads of state have been asking to speak with Marcos.

“There are many people who are very eager to listen to him from what I’m told. We have several heads of state who have asked if they could have a meeting with President Marcos. So it’s going to be something that’s going to be very important for the country,” he said.

Romualdez said Marcos has already put together an outline for his speech.

“I think we are sort of ready to tell the world that we’re here, we’re going to play a major role in the global community, and more importantly which is really part of what President Marcos has always said, the recovery from the pandemic is not going to be done by one country alone but by the world. That probably will be his message,” he said.

Meanwhile, Romualdez said Marcos may mention security, the West Philippine Sea, and the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China’s massive claims over South China Sea.

“I think that that’s probably going to be mentioned, generally, I suppose,” he said.

Romualdez said Marcos has been asking his Cabinet secretaries for inputs. —KBK, GMA News