26 March 2014 – The Philippines and Spain signed and initialled six agreements during the visit of Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Garcia-Margallo to the Philippines from March 24 to 25.
They are as follows:
1) The Cooperation Plan between the Ateneo de Manila University of the Philippines and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (MECD) of Spain for the improvement of teaching of Spanish and English;
2) The Cooperation Plan between the University of the Philippines (UP) and the MECD for the improvement of teaching of Spanish and English;
3) Memorandum of Agreement between the Philippine Statistics Authority and the Consulate General of Spain in Manila on verification of documents;
4) Agreed Minutes of the Joint Standing Committee Meeting on Education, Culture and Sports between the Republic of the Philippines and the Kingdom of Spain co-chaired by DFA European Affairs Assistant Secretary Maria Zeneida Angara Collinson and Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director for Cultural and Scientific Relations;
5) Statement of the VI Philippines-Spain Joint Commission on Development Cooperation as the outcome document of the Joint Commission for Technical Cooperation which was co-chaired by NEDA Deputy Director General Rolando Tungpalan and the Honorable Antonio Gonzalez-Zavala y Peña, Head of the Development Department, Cooperation with Arab World and Asia of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID); and
6) Agreement between the Republic of the Philippines and the Kingdom of Spain on Cooperation in Combating Transnational Crime.
Both Cooperation Plans with the Ateneo and UP will include, among other projects, teaching English as a foreign language in Spain or teaching in English language programs by senior undergraduate or graduate students who were selected by the Education Office of the Spanish Embassy.
The Statement of the VI Joint Commission for Technical Cooperation reflects principle lines of action that will be implemented by both countries from 2014-2017 in the field of cooperation, development and natural disaster risk management.
The Statement affirms that the Philippines is a Priority Country under the Spanish Master Plan. This is proof of Spain’s confidence in the country’s development policies, particularly those defined in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) of 2011-2016. This PDP describes the framework for the progressive achievement of social, political, and economic development, as well as the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), with the main objective of achieving inclusive economic growth.
The Agreement on Cooperation in Combating Transnational Crime will strengthen bilateral cooperation in criminal matters, including the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and other transnational organized crime.
Both parties shall collaborate in the prevention and investigation of transnational crimes, including human trafficking; piracy; forgery; cybercrimes; organized form of crimes against sexual freedom, especially those involving minors; and illegal acquisition, import or export of cultural assets of historical value and works of art.
The Agreement is ready for signing by the competent authorities namely, the Department of the Interior and Local Government of the Philippines and the Ministry of Interior of Spain. END