Marcos thanks, confers Order of Sikatuna to Singaporean envoy

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Wednesday expressed gratitude to outgoing Ambassador of the Republic of Singapore to the Philippines Gerard Ho for his role in strengthening the ties between the two countries.

Marcos conferred the Order of Sikatuna with the Rank of Datu (Grand Cross) Silver Distinction to the Singaporean envoy in recognition of his significant contributions in strengthening the partnership between the Philippines and Singapore.

"We thanked our dear friend, H.E. Gerard Ho Wei Hong, outgoing Ambassador of the Republic of Singapore to the Philippines, as we conferred upon him the Order of Sikatuna with the Rank of Datu, Silver Distinction, in recognition of his instrumental role in effecting many milestones in our bilateral ties," the President said.

He also congratulated Ho on his new assignment as the incoming Permanent Representative of Singapore to ASEAN in Jakarta.

"We wish him the very best on this new endeavor," he said.

Ho had a farewell call on Marcos on Tuesday at the Study Room in Malacañang Palace.

Among Ho’s notable contributions, as read in the citation, include his support and facilitation of numerous government-to-government cooperation agreements in the areas of economic, security and people-to-people; his efforts to obtain and provide humanitarian assistance to the country in times of natural disasters and during the COVID-19 pandemic; and his initiatives to foster amity and mutual appreciation between the peoples of the Philippines and Singapore.—AOL, GMA Integrated News