Good evening.

Vice President Sara Duterte [Oh please take your seats]; members of the Cabinet, especially those who formed part of the Philippine delegation on this first trip for this administration, State Visit to Jakarta, Indonesia and to Singapore; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

I am glad to be back from Indonesia and Singapore. [applause] However successful and productive this trip was, of course, it is always going to be good to come back home.

At lalong-lalo na kapag tayo ay mayroon namang magandang balita nang kaunti na sasabihin natin eh may pasalubong na maaaring matanggap natin kapag tayo ay binuo natin lahat ng sinimulan namin dito sa nakaraan na bisita, na state visit na ito.

My inaugural State Visits to our two important ASEAN neighbors were fruitful and engaging.

I met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo to comprehensively discuss our overall bilateral ties with Indonesia.

Our conversation covered all facets of our relations, particularly [on] defense, security, maritime cooperation, and of course trade and investment, and people-to-people ties.

We renewed our commitment to stronger bilateral cooperation as fellow ASEAN members and as members of ASEAN and members of — two of the largest maritime nations in the world.

We look forward to celebrating our Diamond Jubilee or 75 years of official diplomatic friendship in 2024.

Notably, President Widodo and I discussed the delimitation of our boundaries respective to our continental shelves, which I hope can become a template for resolving conflicting claims.

We talked about importing fertilizers into the Philippines and increasing coal imports for our energy supply.

I also met with President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore.

Our conversations highlighted the deep and enduring friendship between our two countries.

President Yacob spoke highly of her State Visit to the Philippines in 2019, when our countries celebrated our Golden Jubilee or 50 years of diplomatic relations.

Prime Minister Lee and I also immediately made a connection as our fathers, who were the leaders of our countries, laid the groundwork for the foundation of ASEAN starting in 1967.

The visits also offered us an opportunity to exchange views with the leaders of Indonesia and Singapore on important regional and global issues that affect security in our region. We were cognizant of our roles as neighbors and partners in ASEAN.

We all shared the view that in this time of geopolitical turmoil and uncertainty, unity, mutual respect, and the principle of sovereign equality should always prevail in our efforts to uphold peace and stability and an environment conducive to our continued national development.

Maliban po sa pakikipagpulong sa mga opisyal ng Indonesia at Singapore, at pagkuha ng kanilang patuloy na suporta sa ating bansa at sa ating gobyerno, nasaksihan ko rin po ang pagpirma ng mga bilateral agreements na magsusulong ng ating kooperasyon sa iba’t ibang sektor.

The Indonesian President and I witnessed the signing of agreements that will broaden and deepen our ties in all facets of cooperation — from defense, security, to the creative economy, and even to culture.

We also agreed to pursue joint activities for the next five years, as our respective Foreign Ministers signed the Philippines-Indonesia Plan of Action for 2022-2027. This lays out the priorities and concrete ways forward for our bilateral cooperation.

During my State Visit to Singapore, Prime Minister Lee and I witnessed the signing and exchange of agreements on counterterrorism, personal data protection, digital cooperation, water resource management, and of course investment, all of which contribute to our journey towards development and prosperity.

Ako, kasama ng aking Economic Team, ay nakipagpulong din sa mga business sector at investors mula sa Indonesia at sa Singapore at hinikayat natin silang mag-invest sa ating bansa.

We met with the members of the different business communities to explain this administration’s policies and economic priorities to promote the Philippines as an investment destination.

Indonesia and Singapore are key trade and investment partners of the Philippines. More notably, Singapore is our top trading partner in ASEAN and 6th worldwide, and our top source of approved investments last year.

I am proud to announce that we have signed and sealed a total of 10 Letters of Intent and 12 MOUs in the sectors of: renewable energy, data centers, e-commerce, broadband technology, start-ups, government housing, and agriculture, and witnessed the signing of several Letters of Intent and MOUs from 22 Indonesian and Singaporean investors.

These investments, if we put it all together,  value USD 14.36 billion or PHP 804.78 billion. This will support our country’s economic recovery efforts and create more jobs for Filipinos here in our country.

I actually have a more detailed breakdown of those numbers which we will include in the final report of the delegation to the country.

Ito po ang isa sa mga ipinangako ko noong nakaraang SONA — na isusulong natin ang foreign investments upang lumakas ang ating ekonomiya.

Ang lahat ng ito ay para sa ating mga kababayan, dito man sa Pilipinas o sa ibang bansa.

That is why I also met with our Filipino communities in Indonesia and Singapore and thanked them not only for their support that led to my electoral victory in the last election, but also their significant contribution to our economy, and also to assure them that this government will take care of them.

Kahit na wala sila dito sa Pilipinas, sinisigurado ng ating pamahalaan na aalagaan pa rin natin sila. Our kababayans continue to be a source of pride as they demonstrate to the world that Filipinos excel at whatever endeavor they choose to undertake.

Indeed, my back-to-back visits to Indonesia and Singapore I think have been thoroughly worthwhile.

So before I end this statement, I reiterate my deepest appreciation to the Governments of Indonesia and Singapore for this opportunity to reaffirm our friendship and explore avenues of cooperation that will benefit all of our countries.

I also thank our kababayans in Indonesia and Singapore for their continued support and trust, which will continue to inspire and motivate me to do my best as I steer our country towards development.

I would also like to note the hard work that our Economic Team and the whole of the Philippine delegation put in for us to be able to achieve these beginnings that are manifested by the signed agreements, the LOIs, the MOUs.

Alam naman natin ito’y simula pa lamang at ito pa ang pagsasabi ng mga malalaking negosyo na mayroon silang balak na mag-invest dito sa Pilipinas.

Gagawin namin lahat ng inyong pamahalaan, gagawin lahat ng ating mga members of the Cabinet, gagawin natin lahat na itong mga sinimulan dito sa una kong state visit ay maging makabuluhan at maitatapos natin hanggang maramdaman na ng pangkarinawan na taong-bayan ang investment na ‘yan at mararamdaman kung gaano karami ang dinalang trabaho, gaano karami ang dinala na bagong kita na ibibigay para sa ating mga kababayan.

Kaya’t we look forward to doing the work, the detailed work that is necessary to bring all of these proposals to fruition. And that is what we are all now going to bend ourselves to this work. We will not stop until we can come back and say, itong mga nasimulan na MOU, itong nasimulan na Letters of Intent, ay nagkaroon na ng resulta.

Hangga’t — until that time, I thank again all of you for the support that we all felt while we were out in our State Visit. And I thank everyone, not only the official delegation, but all those who had a part in making this trip a success, a very productive endeavor, and to strengthen the relationships both on political and economic levels with our two neighbors, Indonesia and Singapore.

Maraming, maraming salamat po at magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat. [applause]

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SOURCE: OPS-PND (Presidential News Desk)