Former UN chief Ban Ki-Moon set for ‘historic visit’ to PH Senate

FILE PHOTO: Former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is set to address the Philippine Senate on Tuesday, February 27, 2024. Hotaru Niitsu/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is set to address the Philippine Senate on Tuesday.

“We are very honored to be welcoming former Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for this historic visit to the Senate,”  Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said in a statement.

Ban will be in the Philippines for the Asian Development Bank’s Eminent Speakers’ Forum, the statement noted. The last time he was in the country was in December 2013, when he visited the Super Typhoon Yolanda-hit province of Tacloban.

At present, Ban chairs the Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future, Boao Forum for Asia, Global Center on Adaptation, and Global Green Growth Institute, among others.

His  “exceptional contributions” in shaping the global landscape have been recognized in a resolution filed this month by Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda.

“Having been elected as the United Nations Secretary-General for two terms from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2016, Mr. Ban Ki-moon demonstrated unwavering commitment to the principles and objectives of the United Nations Charter, leaving behind an extraordinary legacy,” Legarda said in the resolution.

Throughout his tenure, Ban has “consistently played a pivotal role in addressing global challenges, championing peace and security, advancing sustainable development, advocating for human rights, addressing issues such as the rights of children and refugees, and tirelessly working towards achieving a just and equitable world,” according to Legarda.

“Now, therefore, be it resolved  as it is hereby  resolved that the Philippine Senate expresses its profound gratitude and honors the outstanding global contributions of the 8th United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,” the resolution adds.