Remarks of H.E. ALBERT F. DEL ROSARIO
Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines
2nd Annual Dinner of the US-Philippines Society
New York Stock Exchange (6/F)
11 Wall Street, New York City, New York 10005
27 September 2013 (Friday) – 7:00 p.m.
THE PHILIPPINE STORY: A REMARKABLE TRANSFORMATION
Introduction
Ambassador John Negroponte, Board Co-Chair, my good good friend John, my humble thanks for the most kind introduction;
Members of the Society’s Board of Trustees;
Ambassador Jose Cuisia, Jr., Ambassador Libran Cabactulan and Consul General Mario de Leon, Jr.;
Ambassador John Maisto, Society President, and Executive Director Hank Hendrickson;
Mr. John Tuttle, Managing Director of the New York Stock Exchange-Euronext;
Leaders of the US business and Filipino-American community;
Colleagues in the US Government and the Department of Foreign Affairs;
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen;
Good evening.
Raising the Profile of the Philippines in the United States
I am honored and grateful to be given the opportunity to address the 2nd Annual Dinner of the US-Philippines Society. As a young organization formally launched only in June 2012 during the Official Working Visit of President Benigno S. Aquino III to the US, the Society has been successful in organizing a series of high-profile events to carry out its mission of raising awareness about the Philippines.
These events include a business mission to the Philippines in January this year; the first-ever Philippines Conference co-organized with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in September 2012; and regular Roundtables with the John Hopkins SAIS. The enthusiastic participation of US government officials, Capitol Hill staffers, business leaders, media representatives and academics reinforces the Society’s goal of elevating the profile of the Philippines in the US.
Let me as well thank the New York Stock Exchange-Euronext – the so-called “biggest stage in business” – for co-hosting tonight’s dinner. Your invaluable support for the Philippines, Mr. Tuttle, is truly appreciated and please allow us to count on your sustained assistance and confidence in our government.
Before I go any further, I would like to give special thanks to our visionaries who comprise the Board of the US-Philippines Society for their commitment and dedication towards helping propel the Philippines forward.
Tonight, please give me the privilege to talk about the following:
(1) The Three Pillars of Philippine Foreign Policy;
(2) The President’s Good Governance Agenda;
(3) PHL-US Relations;
(4) PHL-China Relations; and
(5) The Way Forward with the US-Philippines Society.
The Three Pillars of Philippine Foreign Policy
Ladies and gentlemen,
Given the unprecedented international business confidence and renewed optimism on the potential of our country, the Philippines is emerging as a political, economic and socio-cultural force, both in the US and in the larger global community.
With the President as its principal architect, Philippine Foreign Policy is anchored on three pillars: (1) preservation and enhancement of national security, (2) promotion and attainment of economic security, and (3) protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare of overseas Filipinos. Underpinning these pillars are the principles of democracy, freedom, peace, security, human rights and the rule of law.
In the first pillar of promoting national security, our goal is to help create and sustain a strong and safe regional neighborhood. On our own, and in concert with international partners, we have pursued mutually beneficial security engagements.
We have designed defense and security relationships to manage new realities. Since classic ideas of balance of power and containment have outlived their relevance, in their place we have emphasized new cooperation on new challenges, including transnational crime, piracy and terrorism, as well as on cooperation in humanitarian emergencies.
For example, we advanced defense cooperation with other countries such as South Korea, New Zealand, Italy, Spain and France. In particular, our Senate ratified a Status of Visiting Forces Agreement with Australia in June 2012.
The Philippines is also working with Japan in enhancing maritime security in the region. As one of two Strategic Partners aside from the US, Japan has been supporting our Philippine Coast Guard in training its personnel and upgrading its equipment.
Pursuing a sustainable peace and development agenda in the Southern Philippines is a vital aspect of promoting national security. The Philippines appreciates the support of the international community in bringing just and lasting peace to Mindanao. The signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro is a milestone achievement in our relentless and tireless dedication to the peace process.
In the second pillar of promoting economic diplomacy, given the President’s objectives of poverty alleviation and creation of jobs, the Department is working tirelessly to support national efforts to attract foreign investment, boost trade and tourism, and encourage development assistance for the Philippines.
As a result, we have made significant progress in economic cooperation with other countries. In grants and loans, for example, we have obtained over 3 billion dollars from Japan in official development assistance for, among others, infrastructure projects, disaster risk reduction and peace and development for Mindanao. We have also received close to 900 million dollars from Australia and nearly half a billion dollars from the Republic of Korea.
With Europe, the 2012 Philippines-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement will allow both sides to address new challenges on issues such as customs and trade facilitation, energy and migration. Indeed, European countries are now looking at the Philippines with invigorated interest.
In 2012 alone, we were able to finalize 43 agreements involving economic cooperation in the areas of investment, tourism, development assistance education, and care services agreements. At the same time, we assisted in developing more than 700 trade and business missions.
The Philippine hosting of the 23rd World Economic Forum on East Asia in 2014 and the annual meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in 2015 – the second since 1996 – reaffirms the leadership role of the Philippines in the global arena.
In the promotion of economic diplomacy, the Department entered into a partnership with the Asian Institute of Management to enhance the skills of our Foreign Service officers. Foreign Service officers undergo a program on economic diplomacy before being assigned abroad. This training is essential to hone our people’s skills as the nation’s front liners in identifying and pursuing economic opportunities abroad.
In the third pillar of protecting Filipino nationals overseas, we are guided by the President’s call to be “even more responsive to the needs and welfare of our overseas Filipino workers.”
As a result of the need to rescue our people in distress, we found ourselves in Libya a day after being sworn into office in 2011. Since then, we have travelled many times to countries beset by difficulties including Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Japan. Since 2011, we have repatriated nearly 20,000 Filipinos in countries torn by civil strife and devastated by natural and other disasters. We continue to repatriate our compatriots from Syria and Egypt where violence continues. Adhering to a policy that no one gets left behind, we have also had the good fortune of not having lost a single life that was within our control.
From 2012 until the first semester of 2013, we extended assistance to more than 34,000 overseas Filipinos and members of their families. Our Foreign Service personnel provide around the clock legal and consular assistance, counseling, shelter, and labor mediation. They undertake jail visitations, administer overseas absentee registration and voting, and help Filipinos organize themselves into communities. They network with local organizations whose purposes are aligned with our policy objectives.
Taking care of our 10 million migrants in 174 countries over 40 time zones has earned us the reputation as the Department that never sleeps.
And by the way, if there is anyone at your table with heavy eye bags who looks as if he is about to fall asleep, he must surely be a Philippine Foreign Service Officer.
Good Governance is Good Economics
From day one, President Aquino has committed his administration to sweeping reforms across various sectors. He has made the political decisions necessary to root out corruption and instil good governance at all levels and layers. In our efforts to enhance our global competitiveness, the Philippine Government continues to improve its processes in doing business in the country and implement rules to create a level-playing field.
The Aquino Administration firmly maintains that “Good governance is good economics.” As a result, the Philippines is reaping the first fruits of its hard work. The Philippines’ economic performance is among the best in the world today. In fact, in the last four quarters, the Philippine economy experienced an unprecedented growth of over 7%.
From one historic first to another, the Philippines received investment grade sovereign debt ratings from three (3) major credit rating agencies: Fitch, Standard & Poor’s, and Japan Credit Rating Agency.
Standard & Poor’s also announced last month that the Philippines is now Southeast Asia’s main economic engine, “fueled by strong domestic demand to lead the rest of the region ahead of Asia in 2013.”
The Philippines is becoming even more globally competitive. In just the last 3 years, we have moved up 26 places in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report. In the ethics and corruption category, the country has jumped from 135th in 2010 to 87th this year. Should we preserve these gains, we can expect to move into the top third of the global rankings by 2016.
Most recently, the Economic Freedom of the World 2013 Report issued by the Fraser Institute, Canada’s leading think tank, ranked the Philippines 56th out of 152 countries and recognized the Philippines as the second best performer in ASEAN, next to Singapore. The latest Asian Business Cycle Report of the OECED Development Center also showed that the Philippines was the only emerging Asian nation with a strong business cycle.
All of these represent a resounding affirmation of global and domestic confidence in the Philippines.
As we face the continuing challenge of achieving inclusive growth for our country and our people, we actively explore opportunities to stimulate greater trade, investment, tourism and official development assistance with our major economic partners. With renewed interest in the Philippines, we are exerting full efforts to generate employment and reduce poverty in line with President Aquino’s goal to create more jobs at home so that “working abroad will be a matter of choice rather than a need.”
As we continue to tackle the remnants of the culture of corruption and impunity, we seek to institutionalize and sustain the reform agenda beyond the Aquino administration since it is our conviction that the Filipino people deserve no less.
Broadening and Deepening of PH-US Relations
In a few weeks, US President Barack Obama will undertake his first State Visit to the Philippines, the 8th by an American President. In my meeting last April in Washington, DC, Secretary of State John Kerry said that the “relations between the US and the Philippines have never been better.” President Obama’s visit will reaffirm the strong economic, people-to-people and security links between our countries. Indeed, we are witnessing a more vibrant cooperation.
Over the past year, we have been discussing with the US modalities to enhance our defense and security cooperation, particularly in maritime security and maritime domain awareness.
During the Official Working Visit of President Aquino to the US last year, our leaders ushered in a new era of strategic partnership, with the US Government reaffirming support for Philippine efforts to build the country’s minimum credible defense posture. This broadening and deepening of Philippines-US relations is being positively viewed in the context of the US rebalance toward Asia.
Last month, we began discussions on institutionalizing increased rotational presence through a framework agreement premised on mutuality of benefits and in full accord with the Philippine Constitution.
The US is also one of our most important partners in development. For the past two years, we have been working with the US through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the State Department and the USAID.
Under the $434 million, five-year Philippine Millennium Challenge Account Compact, the US is assisting the Philippines in program areas encompassing poverty alleviation, good governance and infrastructure development.
Under the Partnership for Growth (PFG), an effort to implement President Obama’s Policy Directive on Global Development, the Philippines was selected two years ago as one of the 4 pilot countries and the only country in Asia, in recognition of our track record in partnering with the US government and potential for continued economic growth. Over the life of the PFG, the US Government has committed an estimated $170 million to pursue three (3) key areas of policy engagement: (i) improving the regulatory environment; (ii) strengthening the rule of law and anti-corruption measures; and (iii) improving fiscal space. The Philippine Government is being assisted by 17 different US agencies to achieve the objectives of the program.
In June 2012, we signed the bilateral agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation which provides opportunities to exchange ideas, information, skills and techniques in key focus areas.
In July this year, we also signed a Memorandum of Agreement on the second round of debt conversion under the US Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1988, amounting to 31 million dollars.
Challenges and Opportunities in Philippines-China Relations
My speech tonight will not be complete without talking about the other topic of interest - Philippines-China relations. There has been no forum where I was not expected to tackle the West Philippine Sea issue. The core issue of the dispute is China’s claim of indisputable sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea under its nine dash line position. This claim is expansive, excessive and in gross violation of international law, specifically UNCLOS. China’s continuous overwhelming naval and maritime presence in the area is also contributing to the raising of regional tensions.
The Philippines had undertaken many efforts to peacefully engage China and settle these disputes. However, these were unsuccessful. The Philippines had exhausted almost all political and diplomatic avenues for a peaceful negotiated settlement of its maritime dispute with China. Our last resort was to utilize the legal track towards the resolution of disputes.
From the Philippine perspective, the rules-based approach contains two elements: the first is the third-party arbitration towards resolution of disputes, in accordance with the universally recognized principles of international law, specifically UNCLOS; and the second is the early conclusion of a Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea between ASEAN and China towards the management of tensions.
The Philippines initiated arbitral proceedings in January this year. We see arbitration as an open, friendly, and durable solution to the dispute. We believe it benefits everyone. For China, arbitration will define and clarify its maritime entitlements. For the Philippines, arbitration will clarify what is ours, specifically its fishing rights, rights to resources and rights to enforce laws within our Exclusive Economic Zone. For the rest of the international community, the clarification of maritime entitlements would assure peace, security, stability and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
On the status of the arbitration, the Arbitral Tribunal has adopted the rules of procedure and decided that the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague shall act as the Registry in the proceedings. By 30 March 2014, the Philippines will be submitting its Memorial. The Memorial will address issues such as the jurisdiction of the Tribunal and the merits of the case.
The Philippines fully supports the ASEAN’s efforts to work towards the early conclusion of a substantive and legally binding COC to promote the peaceful management of tensions in the South China Sea. The Philippines is encouraged by the results of recent meetings between officials of ASEAN and China where both sides agreed to begin discussions on the workplan for the COC.
Despite the challenges we face in protecting what is ours, the Philippines endeavors to maintain a positive, peaceful and stable relationship with China.
I wish to stress that the Philippines is committed to undertake all that is possible to cultivate constructive relations with China in spite of these issues in the West Philippine Sea. We maintain that our disputes in the West Philippine Sea are not the sum total of our relations.
The President is firm in his conviction to uphold his agreement with Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2011 not to let the maritime disputes affect the broader picture of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
We acknowledge China’s role in world affairs and support its peaceful rise. As China becomes stronger and more powerful, it is our hope that China will become a more responsible state and a positive force in the region. To be viewed as a responsible state, China must adhere to and respect the rule of law.
We maintain that China must also treat all nations, including the Philippines, with respect for equality and sovereignty.
The Way Forward with the US-Philippines Society
Ladies and gentlemen,
Under President Aquino’s leadership and guided by his Social Contract with the Filipino People, my country continues to embark on a journey along a straight path – or, as we say in Filipino, “Daang Matuwid” – resolving to work towards inclusive growth, combating corruption, promoting transparency and accountability, improving global competitiveness, achieving just and lasting peace, and upholding the rule of law.
May we therefore enjoin the US-Philippines Society to reinforce and give fresh meaning to our shared history, our shared values, our shared concerns and our shared aspirations especially to the new generation of Americans who may have little appreciation for the essence of our historical brotherhood.
May we moreover enjoin the US-Philippines Society to announce the incredible growth of the Philippines to the world, to have our country considered as a most attractive investment and business destination, and to be an exciting part of its remarkable transformation.
May we furthermore enjoin the US-Philippines Society to encourage the US Government to pursue the strongest possible treaty alliance and to embark on an even more strategic partnership with the Philippines.
In closing, on behalf of the Filipino people, I take great pleasure in thanking the people of the United States for their enduring and warm friendship and their solid partnership.
I wish to especially thank the Filipino-American community for being one with us in addressing the challenges that we face as a nation and for remaining as true Filipinos in thought, word and deed. To the Filipino-Americans, you have been just great and our President truly loves you.
Moreover, I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to gratefully acknowledge the outstanding work of Ambassador Joey Cuisia and his team. Our good Ambassador’s dedication is most admirable, and we are indeed very fortunate to have his brand of leadership in enhancing our bilateral relations with the United States. Please know, Joey, that you do us proud.
To all, I thank you for granting me the joy of being with you tonight. Maraming salamat po.
Good evening and Mabuhay! END