Philippine embassy in US working on Marcos visit to Hawaii

JAKARTA – The Philippine embassy in Washington is arranging a possible visit by President Marcos to a West Coast city and Hawaii after his participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meet in California in November.

“Well, it’s going to be a very tight schedule again for the President because the (APEC) summit will actually start on Nov. 15 up to the 18th. And then the President plans to visit another city on the West Coast, and then from there possibly... maybe, we’re still trying to work out a short stay, a short visit to Honolulu,” Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez told reporters here last Tuesday.

“But all of these schedules are being worked out,” he added.

Romualdez said there is a large Filipino community in Hawaii, where Marcos and his family were exiled after the 1986 People Power revolution that abruptly ended the presidency of his late father and namesake.

The administration of then president Corazon Aquino allowed the Marcoses to return to the Philippines in 1991.

Marcos also wants to have “a lot of meetings” with potential investors, the ambassador said.

“Whenever he goes, especially to the United States, there’s a lot of interest now in the Philippines, from many companies,” Romualdez added.

According to the envoy, Silicon Valley tech companies are “very eager” to meet with the President, who has repeatedly cited the importance of digitalization in government transactions.

“There’s also quite a number of requests from financial institutions. There are also companies in the manufacturing business in the West Coast, and probably a follow-up on the modular nuclear power plants that we’ve been talking about, and a number of companies that are based in the West Coast,” he added.

Trudeau invites BBM

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday invited President Marcos to visit Canada next year to celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties between their two countries.

In a statement, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said Trudeau extended the invitation during his bilateral meeting with Marcos on the sidelines of the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and Related Summits here.

“Next year, we are celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations… But the reality is the trade ties, economic ties between our countries continue to grow, the opportunities for investment, the flow of people back and forth as well,” the Canadian leader was quoted by the PCO as saying.

Diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Canada started in 1949.