Keynote Address
by
HON. ENRIQUE A. MANALO
Secretary for Foreign Affairs
75th Anniversary of the Philippine-American Educational Foundation
23 March 2023, Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel
Ambassador MaryKay Carlson;
Executive Director Julio Amador III;
Chairman J. Prospero De Vera III;
Esteemed Executive Directors and alumni of Fulbright Commissions in East Asia;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Good evening.
It is my pleasure and privilege to address you on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Philippine Fulbright Program and the Philippine-American Educational Foundation.
The Department of Foreign Affairs values its cooperation with the Philippine-American Educational Foundation, or PAEF, in supporting educational exchange programs between the Philippines and the United States throughout the years.
Established in 1948 through an executive agreement, the PAEF is even older than our Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States. This demonstrates how our exemplary people-to-people ties have been the bedrock of Philippines-US relations. Through the PAEF, we have seen how educational exchange has benefited more than 3,000 Filipinos and Americans through various scholarship programs and grants, most notably the Fulbright Scholarship Program and the Humphrey Fellowship Program.
The impact of these initiatives on the professional growth of their participants is immeasurable. Equally important is the opportunity that these programs present for building networks and linkages that have certainly redounded to the benefit of our two nations.
The Fulbright Program, in particular, capacitates and empowers their participants to make better contributions in the fields of education, economics, health, arts and the humanities, and politics and government, among others.
Filipino Fulbright scholars have gone on to become national luminaries such as the likes of National Artist for Sculpture Napoleon Abueva, National Scientist in Biology Dr. Angel Alcala, and National Scientist for Economics Jose Encarnacion. The Fulbright Program has also made its mark on the Philippine Foreign Service, through the contributions of Fulbrighter-diplomats such as Ambassador Jose Cuisia, former Philippine Ambassador to the United States; Ambassador Igor Bailen, former Assistant Secretary for Treaties and Legal Affairs; and Assistant Secretary for American Affairs Jose Victor Chan-Gonzaga, who is also a current member of the PAEF Board.
At this point, I wish to acknowledge the steadfast commitment of the Philippine and U.S. governments to foster academic and professional excellence through these educational exchanges. I also thank the universities in both countries, the Philippine Department of Agriculture, the Philippine Commission on Higher Education, and the Washington SyCip Family Foundation, for their longstanding support and partnership.
Finally, I offer my warmest congratulations and best wishes to the Philippine-American Educational Foundation on reaching the 75th anniversary milestone, and to the Fulbrighters, Humphrey Fellows, and PAEF scholars who continue to make meaningful and sustained contributions to our own country’s national development while cultivating the close friendship between the Filipino and American peoples.
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