PHL Embassy in The Hague Organizes Meet and Greet with the GRP Peace Negotiators

Top left photo: Ambassador Jaime Victor Ledda welcomes the GRP Peace Negotiators to the Philippine Embassy. Top right photo: GRP Panel Chief Negotiator Secretary Silvestre Bello III presents Ms. Wads Wijnberg-Tiongson of the Filipino Community with his watch as a token for being the oldest Filipino in the event. Bottom left photo: Secretary Bello with the Filipino community during the open forum. Bottom right photo: Presidential Peace Adviser Secretary Jesus Dureza addressing the Filipino community.

25 April 2017 THE HAGUE – Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands Jaime Victor B. Ledda welcomed the members of the GRP Peace Negotiators to the Philippine Embassy in The Hague on April 04 in a meet and greet event.

Members of the GRP peace negotiating team were led by the GRP Panel Chief Negotiator Secretary Silvestre Bello III and included Presidential Peace Adviser Secretary Jesus Dureza, Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano, Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan, Undersecretary Hernani Braganza, Atty. Rene Sarmiento, Atty. Angela Trinidad, and Atty. Antonio Arellano. Three (3) representatives from the House of Congress were also part of the team: Rep. Henry C. Ong, Rep. Carlos Isagani T. Zarate, and Rep. Ruby M. Sahali. Representatives of the following offices completed the GRP team: Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), Department of Justice (DOJ), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), National Security Council (NSC), De La Salle University (DLSU), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), International Alert (IA), the House of Representatives, and In Peace Mindanao. Media personnel were also in attendance, namely, ABS-CBN 2, PTV 4, Opinyon, Kodao Productions Philippines, and Radyo ni Juan.

Members of the Filipino community in the Netherlands in attendance during the event included students from the Erasmus University Rotterdam-HIS, The Hague University, and the Technical University Delft and UNESCO-IHE; representatives of organizations such as Stichting Kapatiran, Filipino Catholic Community Rotterdam (FCCR), International Network of Museums for Peace-Binhi ng Kapayapaan, Inc., Filipino Migrants in Solidarity (FILMIS), Filipino Catholic Community Dordrecht (FCCD), Migrante-Netherlands, Phil Fonds, Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship (LSE) Training Program for Filipinos in the Netherlands, Kilusang Pagbabago-Netherlands, Word International Ministries (WIN)-Netherlands, University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA), and Economic Resource Center for Migrants and Overseas Employees (ERCMOVE); and representatives of international organizations such as the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC).

There was a lively briefing by Secretaries Dureza and Bello, which culminated in an active open forum, where several Filipino community representatives engaged both Secretaries in a dialogue. A peace oath was also administered to Filipino community members who expressed commitment to become peace ambassadors. The event was capped by a hearty sharing of Filipino cuisine among the GRP team, the Filipino community attendees, and Embassy personnel.

For more information, visit thehaguepe.dfa.gov.ph. END