Bongbong Marcos arrives in Singapore for second leg of initial state visit
Pres. Ferdinand Marcos during his speech before the Philippine Nurses Association Inc on its 100th anniversary. Image from Bongbong Marcos / Facebook
RIVER VALLEY, Singapore — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has arrived here for the second-leg of his initial state visit, where he is expected to meet with the Filipino community along with the city-state’s leaders and business sector.
The plane carrying Marcos and his delegation landed on Tuesday afternoon, at 12:45 p.m., information from the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) stated.
The President, along with members of the First Family including First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, their son Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos, and other key cabinet officials are scheduled to meet with around 2,000 Filipinos in Singapore within the day.
On Wednesday, the First Couple are expected to be at the Singapore Botanic Garden for a brief ceremony where an orchid would be named after them — in accordance with tradition and honor bestowed on past Philippine presidents.
Marcos will then formally meet with the city-state’s leaders on Wednesday, particularly with Singaporean president Halimah Yacob and prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, before sitting down with the business sector for several deals.
It is unclear how many deals and agreements would be signed between Marcos and the Singaporean government’s representatives, but Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson and Ambassador Teresita Daza said in the pre-departure briefing last Friday that two deliverables are being envisioned.
According to Daza, the first deliverable is the agreement regarding the Philippines’ fielding of a team to the Counterterrorism Information Facility (CTIF), while the second is a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on data privacy and protection cooperation.
“In terms of the deliverables for Singapore, there are two that’s being envisioned, one is the arrangement concerning the assignment of a team to the regional Counterterrorism Information Facility, or what is called the CTIF. This will be signed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines as well as the Singapore Armed Forces,” Daza said last Friday.
“The CTIF is a multilateral platform for monitoring, research, and analysis of terrorist activities. By deploying a Philippine officer, the Philippines can share its experience and expertise in addressing and combatting terrorism, at the same time gather valuable intelligence from other countries and expand our defense network,” she added.
Daza also noted that under the MOU on data protection, safe digitalization efforts of both countries would be supported by promoting information sharing. The agreement would be signed with Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC).
“The second deliverable is the MOU on cooperation in personal data protection, which will be signed by the national privacy commission or NPC, and the Personal Data (Protection) Commission of Singapore,” she said.
“For this MOU, what is being envisioned is the strengthening of the digitization efforts of both countries by engendering trust in cross-border data flows and helping protect the data privacy — of for example, the Filipinos — in the digital era and encouraging greater participation in the Philippine digital economy,” she added.
The DFA official also said that certain issues involving the two countries, like the West Philippine Sea issue, may also be discussed by the leaders as both countries share the same goal of maintaining peace in the region.
“Aside from discussing bilateral relations, there will be an exchange of views on regional and global developments,” Daza explained.
“And as all are actually leaders and members of Asean, there will clearly be discussions on key regional issues of mutual interest including the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea issue cognizant that all three countries actually have the common goal — to maintain peace and stability and prevent incidents in this particular part of the world,” she added.
Marcos arrived in Singapore fresh from recently-concluded discussions in Indonesia, the other leg of his first state visit as Philippine President.
Indonesian Pres. Joko Widodo with Pres. Ferdinand Marcos and First Lady Liza Marcos during Marcos’ first state visit. Image from Bongbong Marcos / Facebook
During his visit to Indonesia, the Chief Executive met with Filipinos working and staying in that country, before meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
