Duterte confers Order of Sikatuna to outgoing UK envoy Daniel Pruce
Daniel Pruce, the outgoing UK ambassador to the Philippines (Photo from his Facebook page)
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has conferred the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Datu to the outgoing British ambassador to the Philippines, Daniel Pruce, Malacañang said in a statement on Wednesday.
Pruce paid a farewell call to the president in Malacañang on Wednesday.
Duterte lauded the outgoing envoy for revitalizing the United Kingdom’s “economic and political presence in the Philippines through high-level exchanges and dialogues.”
Duterte particularly noted Pruce’s role in improving vaccine access for the Philippines that led to the tripartite agreement among the national government, local government units, and the private sector to procure the UK-made AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
Duterte also thanked the UK, through the ambassador, for its donation of the 415,000 doses of AstraZeneca.
Duterte likewise touched on the UK’s preference for Filipino healthcare professionals and called for the finalization of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Recruitment of Filipino Healthcare Professionals.
The memorandum, Duterte said, would “ensure fair, ethical and sustainable recruitment and employment of Filipino healthcare professionals in the UK.”
He also expressed support for the UK’s presidency at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as the COP26, “recognizing the UK’s bold commitments as it steers the global climate agenda towards urgent climate action.”
For Pruce’s part, he thanked the president for his administration’s efforts to further boost bilateral ties with the UK in issues such as political and defense cooperation, trade and investments, people-to-people exchanges, and fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
