27 February 2015- The Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (short: Sovereign Order of Malta), Fra’ Matthew Festing, will undertake an Official Visit to the Philippines from March 01 to 07.
This visit will affirm the commitment of the Philippines and SOM in further strengthening bilateral relations at the highest level, especially as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and SOM.
While in Manila, Fra’ Festing will meet with President Benigno S. Aquino III to discuss bilateral relations and to hand over the symbolic key for SOM’s donation of core shelters in Basey, Samar and Cebu which are in various stages of development: 540 finished, 64 ongoing, and 96 are for construction. These core shelters are expected to be finished by the end of May 2015.
Official delegation members of SOM will also meet with the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and the Secretary of Health.
On March 05, Fra’ Festing and his delegation will travel to Basey, Samar to visit several homes donated by the Order. Through the donation of SOM, 350 core shelters were built in the area.
SOM, through its humanitarian assistance relief arm, Malteser International, has continuously been extending various forms of assistance to the Philippines and has contributed significantly to healthcare, hygiene intervention, feeding programs, providing food supplements and medical supplies and disaster relief and rehabilitation.
His Highness Festing is the second Prince and Grand Master of the SOM to visit the Philippines, following the visit of Fra’ Angelo de Mojana di Colognain February 1979. END