PH participates in the 143rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Spain
Senator Pia Cayetano delivered the Philippine Statement for the General Debate during the 143rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
MADRID 01 December 2021 – Senator Pia Cayetano led the Philippine delegation at the 143rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on 26 to 30 November 2021 in Madrid, Spain.
The Assembly gathered hundreds of Member Parliamentarians from 117 countries convening 1,500 parliamentary delegates. It was the first in-person IPU Assembly since 2019, which was hosted by the Cortes Generales, the parliament of Spain, and the fourth time Spain has hosted the Assembly.
The delegation included Philippine Ambassador to Spain Philippe J. Lhuillier, together with Secretary General Mark Llandro L. Mendoza of the House of Representatives, Director General Antonio de Guzman of the Senate Office of International Relations and Protocol, Consul Monika Kamille B. Limpo, Director Rose Virginie B. Inigo, and Mr. Ronyll Mendoza, Technical Staff of the Senate.
In her speech during the General debate, Sen. Cayetano highlighted the Philippines’ bold commitments at the 2021 Climate Change Conference, cited the importance of fighting misinformation and fake news, and exhorted the Assembly to lead by example in terms of making intelligent and informed decisions.
In relation to the pandemic and the global recognition of the vital role of healthcare workers, Sen. Cayetano shared one of the Philippines’ best practices on managing health human resources, namely giving them priority for vaccination and providing them financial protection.
She also shared that the Philippines must grapple with the challenge of losing its trained corps of healthcare professionals when more attractive wages are offered to them by economically advanced countries.
The Inaugural Ceremony of the 143rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union took place in the Auditorium of the Palacio Municipal, in the presence of H.R.H. King Felipe VI of the Kingdom of Spain. The outcome documents of the Conference include a Madrid Declaration on Contemporary Challenges to Democracy: Overcoming Division and Building Community, which is the overall theme of the Assembly, and two resolutions on legislation worldwide to combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse; and also harnessing global parliamentary support for vaccine equity in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. END
For more information, visit https://www.madripe.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philembassymadrid.com, or https://www.facebook.com/PHinSpain/.