PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. welcomed the US Congressional Delegation (CODEL) led by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) during their courtesy visit to the Malacañan Palace on Tuesday.
In welcoming the delegation, President Marcos thanked them for taking time to visit the Philippines amid the “rather topsy-turvy political cycle” in the US.
“But I’m happy, very happy to welcome all of you to the Philippines,” Marcos said. “I hope that the time that you will spend here can be a productive time where we are able to discuss further the situation concerning the Philippines and the geopolitical complications that we are facing presently,” he added.
Senator Gillibrand extended her gratitude to the President for his warm welcome, describing the Philippines as a “beautiful country.”
“We are delighted to be in a beautiful country. We arrived yesterday and have been just field with optimism and hope for the future,” Gillibrand said.
She said the US is grateful for US-Philippines robust years of friendship and steadfast partnership on economic relations.
“We’re grateful to have you as an ally. Each of those roles is essential for the United States and we hope to continue to play those roles,” she said.
Gillibrand said Filipinos in the US are like their “brothers and sisters, and neighbors,” as she emphasized the great contributions in their country. To date, there are four million Filipinos in the US.
“You’re at the forefront of healthcare; you’re at the forefront of tech, many of your countrymen have served in our armed services,” she said.
“And so, we’re very grateful for all the contributions that Filipino-Americans continue to make throughout the country,” she added.
Gillibrand believes that their visit will open up “extraordinary opportunity” especially for “economic ties, to build upon distinct strengths” whether in the fields of energy, earth minerals, or commerce.
“These are important alliances for us and we want to continue to grow on that. We want to build on the trip that Secretary Raimondo just had here with a number of executives from our companies. So, we’re grateful for that,” she said.
Gillibrand also shared her concerns on China’s aggression regarding many issues around the Philippines.
The US senatorial delegation arrived on Monday to discuss about PH-US relations, promotion of Regional Peace and Security through Enhanced Defense and Security Cooperation and Economic Cooperation, among others with the President.
