Philippine President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (2nd R) accompanied by his wife First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos (R) with Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan (2nd L) and his wife Joy Balakrishnan (L) attend an orchid naming ceremony at the National Orchid Garden in Singapore on September 7, 2022. (Photo by Roslan RAHMAN / POOL / AFP)
ORCHARD ROAD, Singapore — Six key deals between the Singaporean and Philippine governments have been signed on the second day of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s state visit here, including the agreement on the recruitment of more Filipino health workers to the city-state.
Information sent by the Office of the Press Secretary on Wednesday stated that the following six key documents were discussed earlier between Marcos’ delegation and the Singaporean government:
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Information and Communications Technology of the Philippines and the Ministry of Communications and Information of Singapore in the field of digital cooperation
- Joint Communiqué between the Department of Migrant Workers of the Philippines and the Ministry of Health of Singapore on the recruitment of Filipino healthcare workers
- Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Personal Data Protection between the National Privacy Commission of the Philippines and the Personal Data Protection Commission of Singapore
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Bases Conversion and Development Authority of the Philippines and Enterprise Singapore for Singapore and Philippines to collaborate on business opportunities on the development of New Clark City
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System of the Philippines and the Public Utilities Board of Singapore on water collaboration
- Arrangements between the Singapore Armed Forces and Armed Forces of the Philippines concerning the assignment of a team to the Regional Counterterrorism Information Facility in Singapore
The memorandum of understanding regarding the data protection initiatives of both countries, and the agreement on the assignment of a team to the Regional Counterterrorism Information Facility were the two deliverables mentioned by Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson and Ambassador Teresita Daza last Friday, before Marcos went to Indonesia for the first leg of the state visits.
READ: DFA: President’s scheduled visit to Indonesia, Singapore aim to bolster ties
Meanwhile, the joint communique was the good news relayed by Marcos and incoming Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople during the meeting with the Filipino community on Tuesday night.
According to Marcos and Ople, this was Singaporean government’s way of recognizing the tremendous effort and contribution of Filipino health workers who helped Singapore manage its COVID-19 outbreaks.
READ: Singapore offers more healthcare jobs for Filipinos – Bongbong Marcos
The memorandum of understanding regarding the development of New Clark City, on the other hand, was discussed in passing by new Bases Conversion and Development Authority Chairperson Delfin Lorenzana, who said that they are looking for assistance on how to build the real estate side of the old Clark Air Base within a small space — just like Singapore.
READ: Lorenzana: PH to partner with Singaporean firm to develop Clark Air Base
The Philippine government would still need to assess and compute the amount and extent of assistance that the agreements and memoranda gave to the country.
Earlier, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles cited the investments and deals obtained from Indonesia, which were eventually identified to have a big contribution after further assessment.
“Wala tayong target number yet, mahirap pong magsabi kasi even kapag nakapag-usap na tayo at mayroon na tayong agreement, hindi rin natin — kukompyutin pa natin,” Angeles said.
“Halimbawa sa Indonesia, ang laki pala ng amounts na makukuha natin – ang sabi originally ni Secretary Pascual, worth of 700 million. So noong finally nilabas namin yesterday, nakita ninyo naman iyong statement, so we’re talking about billions and we’re also looking at 7,000 new jobs for Filipinos,” she added.
Marcos is expected to have a jam-packed schedule for the last day of his state visit in Singapore with series of meetings with potential investors.
During his meeting with the Filipino community, the President cited that Singapore has been a leading source of investments to the Philippines.