Vietnamese Legislature Donates 30,000 Protective Masks to Philippine Congress
Senate Secretary Atty. Myra Marie D. Villarica (third from left) and House Deputy Secretary General Atty. Jarie R. Osias (third from right) receive the donation from Vietnamese Ambassador to the Philippines Hoang Huy Chung (DFA Photo by Nilo Palaya)
PASAY CITY 03 September 2020 – A turnover ceremony for the donation by the National Assembly of Vietnam of 30,000 face masks to the Philippine Congress was held on 02 September 2020 at the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Strategic Communications and Research Ernesto C. Abella, together with Senate Secretary Atty. Myra Marie D. Villarica and House Deputy Secretary General Atty. Jarie R. Osias received the donation from Vietnamese Ambassador to the Philippines Hoang Huy Chung.
The turnover coincided with Vietnam’s commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Declaration of Vietnam’s Independence, for which Undersecretary Abella also extended the felicitations and best wishes of the Philippine government.
Ambassador Chung described the donation as a manifestation of the solidarity of the Vietnamese National Assembly with their counterparts in the Philippine legislature in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. He recognized the role of both houses of Congress in supporting the national effort to beat the health emergency.
The representatives of Congress, in response, expressed appreciation for this “gesture of camaraderie and renewed solidarity” between Vietnam and the Philippines and their respective Parliaments.
Also in attendance were Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs Meynardo L.B. Montealegre, DFA Legislative Liaison Voltaire O.C. Mauricio, Second Secretary Nguyen Thai Giang of the Vietnamese Embassy, and other officials.
The donation was shipped to the Philippines with support from Vietnamese entrepreneur Johnathan Hanh Nguyen and the Philippine Embassy in Hanoi, and was received upon arrival by Director General Antonio G. de Guzman, Jr., of the Senate Office of the International Relations and Protocol on behalf of both chambers of Congress. END
Senate Secretary Atty. Myra Marie D. Villarica (left) and House Deputy Secretary General Atty. Jarie R. Osias (right) receive the donation from Vietnamese Ambassador to the Philippines Hoang Huy Chung (DFA Photo by Nilo Palaya)