Marcos to new envoys: Promote Philippine interest, look for new business opportunities

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has called on new envoys to continue looking for business and partnership opportunities for the Philippines.

Marcos made the statement during a courtesy call of the newly appointed ambassadors at the President’s Hall in Malacañang Palace on Thursday.

He underscored that the diplomats should promote the interest of the Philippines and foster partnerships with all nations, "whether they are friendly or not."

“And whether or not they are allies, whether or not they are friendly, nonetheless, it is very important that we continue to communicate, that we continue to engage, that we continue to have a way to explain what the Philippines is trying to do, how the Philippines sees its role in the community of nations,” the President said in his message.

“I think it is important [that] we now look and be very, very conscientious about finding opportunities for the Philippines that might be good for the Philippines,” Marcos added.

He said the ambassadors should serve as instruments in helping the Philippine economy and pursuing opportunities to woo more investors as the country is navigating its way out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is important that we have partners as we try to navigate out of this pandemic economy, out of the crisis that we have had to attend to and deal with as an effect of the Ukraine conflict,” Marcos said.

“When we endorse and assist the private sector in partnerships with whoever the investors from outside, that is also a good thing for us,” he added.

Marcos also pointed out that the envoys are no longer concerned solely with the diplomatic contact and the diplomatic exchanges.

“This is something that we have to recognize now.  And that is what, as I said, we look to our envoys to be able to achieve to one, consistently make known to all our friends, all our own partners, the position of the Philippines on all the aspects of the world discussion that we are all part of,” he said.

Marcos said the envoys have to look for ideas and partnerships with other countries offering assistance on climate change and other things that can be beneficial for the Philippines.

“That’s why I think that probably is the newest feature of an envoy’s duties as I see. So that I see, well, it is a new world out there; we must adjust,” said Marcos. “And I believe that for the Philippines, for the national interest, that this is the way to adjust.”

The Filipino envoys include Ambassador Grace Tolentino Cruz-Fabella for the Argentine Republic; Ambassador Jaime Victor Badillo Leda for the Kingdom of Belgium; Ambassador Joseph Gerard Bacani Angeles for the Federative Republic of Brazil; Ambassador Eduardo Martin Ramos Meñez for the Czech Republic; Ambassador Gina Alagon Jamoralin for the Republic of Indonesia; and Ambassador Pedro Ramirez Laylo Jr. for the State of Israel.

Also included were Ambassador Nathaniel Garcia Imperial for the Italian Republic; Ambassador Mylene De Joya Garcia-Albano for Japan; Ambassador Wilfredo Cunanan Santos for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Ambassador Lilybeth Rodriguez Deapera for the United Mexican States; Ambassador Lilibeth Velasco Pono for the State of Qatar; Ambassador Medardo Antonio Gonzales Macaraig for the Republic of Singapore; and Ambassador Alfonso Ferdinand Agbayani Ver for the United Arab Emirates. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News