HONORABLE ALBERT F. DEL ROSARIO
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
BALMORI ROOM (G/F), THE PENINSULA MANILA
24 March 2014 (Monday)
STATEMENT FOR THE JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE
Good evening, Members of the Press.
I would like to express my gratitude to my good friend, His Excellency, Foreign Minister Margallo, for honoring our invitation to visit the Philippines leading to the successful High Level Political Consultations conducted earlier today.
Let me also take this opportunity to reiterate the gratitude of the Philippine Government and the Filipino people for Spain’s generous humanitarian assistance not only in the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) but also in the wake of the Zamboanga crisis and the earthquake in Bohol.
Our High Level Political Consultations was held in keeping with the implementation of the framework Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the Philippines and Spain signed in 2000.
We are profoundly satisfied with the present state of bilateral relations founded on historical, cultural ties and shared values. We reaffirmed our countries’ commitment to further advance our partnership and, at the same time, explore new areas of cooperation.
We stand ready to deepen our already robust bilateral relations, given welcome impetus by unprecedented growth rates in the Philippine economy and the historic signing this week of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, both driven in large measure by the continued reform agenda and the good governance policy of the Aquino administration.
The sizable delegation of top level officials from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and from Spanish business conglomerates who accompanied His Excellency Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo in this visit attests to Spain’s steadfast commitment to broaden our bilateral partnership, opening fresh avenues of cooperation in the areas of agriculture, tourism and public-private partnerships in infrastructure.
We heard the positive reports of the parallel meetings of the Joint Standing Committee Meeting on Education, Culture and Sports and the Joint Commission on Technical Cooperation. In particular, we welcomed the signing of the Cooperation Plan of the University of the Philippines with the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport as well as the Cooperation Plan of the Ateneo de Manila University with the same Ministry. An agreement between the Philippine Statistics Authority and the Embassy of Spain on facilitating the release of civil registry documents for visa purposes was also signed today.
We were encouraged to hear that the Department of Science and Technology and the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports are in the final stages of negotiations for an agreement that aims to create a framework between DOST and participating Spanish educational institutions that may facilitate the use of Spanish as a language of instruction in the Philippine education system. Another agreement between the National Archives of the Philippines and the Higher Council for Scientific Research of Spain is expected to be signed soon.
In addition to these newly signed agreements, we were gratified by the report of the Joint Committee on Education, Culture and Sports on the active implementation of previously signed agreements. For example, as a direct result of cooperation between the Spanish government and the Department of Education and TESDA, there are now at least 72 educational institutions all over the country that have produced over 8,000 Spanish speaking students.
We were delighted with the Statement of the Joint Commission on Technical Cooperation which reflects the principle lines of action that will be implemented by both countries from 2014 to 2017 in the fields of cooperation, development and natural disaster risk reduction and management.
On bilateral agreements, Foreign Minister Margallo and I have affixed our initials on the Agreement on Combating Transnational Crime, which we expect to see signed in the near future. Our countries’ representatives have likewise essentially agreed on the text of the Air Transport Agreement.
On the issue of the South China Sea/ West Philippine Sea, the Philippines and Spain agreed on the importance of peaceful resolution of disputes, full respect of international law including UNCLOS, and the freedom of navigation.
I wish the Foreign Minister a good trip to Leyte tomorrow where he will visit, among other areas, the Regional Hospital of Tacloban which received emergency equipment from Spain. I understand that 400 fishing boats will be handed over to local communities through the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.
Following the trip to Leyte, the Foreign Minister will inaugurate an emergency warehouse facility, a joint project with the Department of National Defense and the Department of Interior and Local Government.
I wish to express our appreciation to the Spanish Government for these which put Spanish assistance in the humanitarian field and in disaster risk reduction programs to 26 million euros (about US$41 million). This is apart from the new package within the framework agreement of development cooperation between the Philippines and Spain for 2014-2017 which will consist of a minimum of 50 million euros (about US$80 million) in grants and loans.
On behalf of the Government of the Philippines, I wish to express my appreciation to His Excellency for the successful conclusion of the High Level Political Consultations and we look forward to the next consultations to be held next year in Spain at a mutually agreed date.
Thank you and good evening.