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| Photo c/o Amba Gary's Facebook account |
He has raised heaps of valid and good points, which will be explained further in future blog posts. I believe in this man and these are not just mere words of a diplomat, but sincere and some of them are already concrete examples of what has been accomplished. Here then is his speech:
The Rt. Hon. David Carter MP, Speaker of the Parliament,
Our Guest-of-Honour, the Hon. David Bennett MP, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs,
Food Safety, and Racing, Excellencies and Colleagues in the Diplomatic Corps,
Members of Parliament, Friends from the Government of New Zealand, Our Partners
from the Academic, Business, and Civil Society Sectors, Distinguished Guests,
Fellow Filipinos, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Magandang Gabi Po, Tena Koutou, Tena Koutou, Tena Tatou
Kotoa,
First, let me thank you all for joining us as we
celebrate the 119th Anniversary of Philippine Independence, with the theme
“Kalayaan 2017: Pagbabagong Sama-samang Balikatin” – meaning Freedom 2017: Let
us all work for change together.
I thank all of you for your messages of solidarity of support
with regard to the situation in Mindanao, and the recent incident in Metro
Manila. Likewise, we express our support for the victims of crime and terror,
and their loved ones, around the world.
2016 marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of
NZ-Philippines Diplomatic Relations. In 2017, we begin the next fifty years. We
have built a solid partnership with multilateral, regional and bilateral
dimensions, and close people-to-people relations.
Bilateral: Our President, His Excellency Rodrigo R. Duterte,
met with Prime Minister emeritus The Rt. Hon. (and now Sir) John Key last
September during the ASEAN Summit in Laos. President Duterte visited Auckland
last November, and had the chance to exchange views with the former Foreign
Minister the Hon. Murray McCully. Our President remarked to us that there is
much scope for the further enhancement of our already excellent relationship,
particularly as both our countries champion an Independent Foreign Policy, and
have scope for further cooperation in the dairy industry and geothermal energy
sectors, among others.
We are grateful to the Prime Minister, The Rt. Hon. Bill
English for inviting our Cabinet Secretary, the Hon. Leoncio Evasco, Jr., and
his Deputy, Undersecretary Gloria Jumamil-Mercado, for the Prime Minister’s
Fellowship last month, giving him the much-appreciated and invaluable
opportunity to visit and interact with a range of sectors, including the Maori
Community, G2G connectivity, education & training, geothermal energy, food,
dairy, primary industry, and disaster risk reduction and management.
Our bilateral relationship with New Zealand is maturing
and blossoming – after all we celebrated our golden anniversary last year, with
great prospects for expansion in all key areas particularly in trade,
investment, education, culture and defence. We are most grateful for the range
of assistance provided by the Government of New Zealand, encompassing academic
scholarships and training, policy development and capacity building. The G2G
Ease of Doing Business, ASEAN Young Diplomats Study Tour, New Zealand-ASEAN
Scholarship, ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative (YBLI) schemes have
greatly benefitted us.
This year we’ve had a fruitful exchange of visits of
senior defense officials, as we held our 3rd Bilateral Defence talks in Manila
in March, the Kiwi side led by Defense Secretary Helen Quilter. Last month our
Defence Undersecretary Raymundo Elefante, Jr. visited New Zealand for defence
industry cooperation. The Philippines is privileged to Co-Chair the new ASEAN
Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Cybersecurity with
New Zealand. We are also gearing up for our senior-level engagements with our
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade counterparts.
With the new and bold infrastructure, agriculture,
tourism and other initiatives launched by President Duterte, our overall
indicators as one of Asia’s most resilient and dynamic economies, plus the
synergies unleashed in the region by the ASEAN Economic Community, ASEAN
Australia New Zealand FTA, APEC, and the prospective RCEP – this is the perfect
time for Kiwi Business to jump into the Philippines.
Over the past fourteen months I’ve had the great
privilege of working with new friends and partners across the country in all
sectors – it would take me literally all night to name them all – but may I
highlight our partnerships at the local level with Regional and City Councils,
and their local Business and Filipino Communities, Multi-Cultural Councils,
Universities (I am glad to see Victoria, Massey and IPU), Colleges and Schools
through our #UniversalDiplomacy and #DiplomaticChamber Programs. I am honoured to succeed our
colleague Singapore High Commissioner Bernard Baker as Patron of the Wellington
Multi-Cultural Council. I will have very big shoes to fill. (Sorry I won’t be
able to play the Cello as he does masterfully, but I can do Karaoke and DJ). I
also thank the NZ Asia Foundation, New Zealand ASEAN Business Council, Asia
Forum, among others, for their continuous support.
May I also take this opportunity to also thank the
Government and People of Samoa for their welcome as I presented my credentials
to His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi last year. I will be presenting my
credentials this month in Tonga, and in Fiji, later this year. I also look
forward to my visits to the Cook Islands and Niue, and closer engagement with
the Pacific Islands Forum, Pacific Islands Development Forum and other dynamic
groupings in the region.
ASEAN: In preparation for our Chairmanship of Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2017 which the Philippines has the honour
of holding, I, along with my fellow Ambassadors and High Commissioners of the
ASEAN Committee in Wellington, worked to heighten the awareness of our region
among the Kiwi public starting last year. Trade Minister the Hon. Todd McClay
was kind enough to invite the Committee to visit his beautiful hometown of
Rotorua. Among other highlights last year were engaging our fellow regional
groupings, such as the Pacific and Latin American Communities. A well-attended
Symposium was held at Victoria University of Wellington. The UN Youth of
Dunedin and Otago University organized the first Model ASEAN conference in New
Zealand.
The 6th Southeast Asian Night Market was successfully
held in Wellington through the efforts of the New Zealand Asia Foundation in
partnership with Mayor Justin Lester and the Wellington City Council. We
congratulate Victoria University for winning the bid for leading the ambitious
and timely Centres for Asia-Pacific Excellence (CAPE) for Southeast Asia and
Latin America, and look forward to close collaboration.
KIWINOYS: With now 50,000 strong Filipino New Zealander
or “Kiwinoy” – the portmanteau of Kiwi and our equivalent moniker “Pinoy” – our
Community already constitutes over one percent of New Zealand’s population. In
fact, at times I feel more like a Mayor than an Ambassador, and spend most of
my time visiting Kiwinoys all across the North and South Islands. We are most
grateful to New Zealand for welcoming us here with open arms and hearts.
Kiwinoys here work, study, play and worship together with fellow Kiwis, as IT
Specialists, Nurses, Doctors, Farmers, Construction Workers, Caregivers,
Students, Priests, and numerous other trades. Everywhere I go, I am so inspired
to hear firsthand from both Kiwis and Pinoys how well Kiwinoys have been accepted
in New Zealand society, and contributing to the success and well-being of the
nation through hard work and good civic-mindedness. And, I’m proud to say that
many of the top graduates – Duxes and Prefects – of Kiwi Colleges last year
were Kiwinoys.
A most poignant and globally unprecedented
acknowledgement of the Kiwinoy Community is the selection of Kiwinoys to stand
as candidates for the upcoming Parliamentary Elections by both the
administration and lead opposition political parties, National and Labour. I
don’t think any other country has done this.
Accordingly, our Honorary Consuls in Auckland, will soon
be leaving us. Our Consul General, Mr. Paulo Garcia, will be standing as
candidate for New Lynn under the National Party. Our Vice Consul, Ms. Virginia
Araneta-Russel is a founding member of the Filipino Labour Network and
supporting the campaign of the Filipino Labour Candidate, Mr. Romy Udanga who
is running in the North Shore. The Embassy and Filipino Community thank our
Consuls for their years of distinguished and selfless service. A new Consulate
team for Auckland will be appointed very soon. May I also thank our Consul
General in Christchurch, Mr. Roger Bridge, for his continuing support.
I also appreciate the inclusion of Kiwinoys last year by
the Greens and Labour to stand for the DHB and City Council. Our first elected
City Councilwoman, Ms. Thelma Trono Bell, won last year in Ashburton. Youth
Leaders of Labour, National, Greens and New Zealand First are engaging with
Young Kiwinoys. They joined us in our Youth Leadership Workshop held during
last weekend’s Philippine Festival in Hutt City, which was supported by His
Worship Mayor Ray Wallace.
Next 50 Years: We look forward to the next 50 years of
our relationship. For our common vision, let us take inspiration and guidance
from the themes articulated by the Governor-General H.E. The Rt. Hon. Dame
Patsy Reddy: creativity, innovation, leadership and diversity. Both Kiwis and
Pinoys demonstrate great creativity and innovation, as with our No. 8 wire and
Jeepney ways. With this, there is much we can collaborate on, particularly in
the Digital Economy, the Dairy Industry and Geothermal Energy. The Embassy’s #UniversalDiplomacy and #DiplomaticChamber programs maximize engagement with New
Zealand’s regions and cities.
We foresee Kiwinoys playing an even greater leadership
role in this great and diverse nation, as Kiwinoys enter the political life of
the country, move from dairy worker to farm manager and owner – the
possibilities are endless. Both the Philippines and New Zealand are
multi-cultural societies with common European and Pacific heritage. The
Philippines, along with Mexico, Spain and Latin America are reviving the spirit
of the Trans-Pacific Galleon Trade which was the historical forebear of today’s
globalization. Filipinos are kindred Austronesians with the Maori and
Polynesian peoples. We too have a great common maritime heritage. The Maori
wakas or ocean-going canoes are the analogues of our balanghay vessels which
conveyed us to our present island homes from a common Asian origin.
New Zealand, by virtue of her location and dynamism, is
key, and is a great friend and partner to us all in the Asia-Pacific-Americas
mega-region. New Zealand is an energetic partner of ASEAN and APEC. Let us work
more closely together to be a bridge to Oceania and the Pacific, in engaging
Latin America particularly through the Pacific Alliance, and with the
Commonwealth of Nations. We look forward to #AltaAotearoa
being the great mega-regional catalyst, wherein New Zealand is the synergizing
midpoint between the Bosphorus and Brazil, Baghdad and Buenos Aires. We see
Invercargill as the apex, not the nadir, of the planet…and after a hard day’s
work for this advocacy, we all unwind for a night out in Cuba St. of our
Wellington – recognized this year as the World’s Most Livable City!
On this note, may I invite everyone to join me and offer
a toast: To the continued well-being of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the
Queen of New Zealand; To the continued success of the Government and People of
New Zealand; and To the enduring friendship between the Philippines and New
Zealand.
Maraming Salamat Po! Whakawhetai Koe!
God bless us all! Mabuhay!
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