APPF member-states support PH bid for UN Security Council seat — Zubiri

Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and House Speaker Martin Romualdez greet other participants during the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum Executive Committee Meeting on November 23, 2023. Photo from Senate PRIB

MANILA, Philippines — Sixteen member-states of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) have already expressed their support for the Philippines’ campaign for a seat in the United Nations Security Council, said Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Thursday.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the 31st APPF,  Zubiri said there are 11 more APPF member-states that the Philippines “need to court.”

“Without naming names of countries, so far the Department of Foreign Affairs has pointed out [that] out of the 27 countries of the APPF, actually 28 but there’s 27 that’s listed, we have [the] support of 15. But similar to what Speaker Martin Romualdez pointed out, there’s an additional one,” said Zubiri, partly in Filipino.

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“[Sixteen] out of the 27 have already committed support to the Philippines. There’s 11 more to go that we need to court,” he added.

In the same press conference, House Speaker Martin Romualdez said he is confident that the Philippines will be able to achieve this goal.

READ: PH campaigns for seat in UN Security Council

“We’re very confident that with God’s prayer and all your support, we will be successful. Again, beyond the West Philippine Sea issues where we would like to reaffirm and strengthen our position through these resolutions, we are now campaigning for the candidature in the UN Security Council,” said Romualdez.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. earlier asked for the support of the United Nations for the Philippines’ candidature to the Security Council.