PHL SENATE PRESIDENT MEETS WITH COUNTERPARTS FROM ROK PARLIAMENT, AGREE TO FURTHER COOPERATION ON DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF BILATERAL RELATIONS

Senate President Drilon, who is the first Filipino Senate President who had been invited to officially visit Korea, called on Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn and held meetings with his counterparts from the Korean Parliament, Speaker Chung Ui-Hwa and Representative Choi, Gyu-Sung, the President of the Korean-Philippines Parliamentary Friendship Association.

During his meetings with said Korean officials, Senate President Drilon consistently highlighted the high-level parliamentarian exchanges between the two countries, with the Philippines receiving three delegations from ROK parliament this year, stating that these visits will support endeavors to strengthen bilateral ties and further cooperation on various levels.

Building on this premise, Senate President Drilon also conveyed the strong desire of the Philippine government to elevate bilateral relations to a strategic partnership and expressed hope for significant progress on the PH-ROK strategic partnership in time for President Park Geun-Hye���s visit to the Philippines for the APEC Leaders��� Meeting later this month.

The Senate President, in addition to expressing his appreciation for the Korean government���s expression of support on the peaceful resolution of the nine-dash line claim of China in the South China Sea in accordance with international law, also took the opportunity to apprise the Korean side of the recent ruling of the Tribunal constituted under Annex VII of UNCLOS on its jurisdiction over the issues raised by the Philippines.

Speaker Chung, for his part, welcomed the ruling of the Arbitral Tribunal, stating that it is ���fortunate that the decision has been made in favor the Philippines,��� and further expressing hope that the issue will be resolved in accordance with international law.

The Korean officials also touched on thepressing issue concerning the safety of the more than 80,000 Korean nationals living in the Philippines and the more than 1M Korean tourists visiting the country each year.

The officials acknowledged and articulated their appreciation for the efforts being undertaken by the Philippine government in addressing the issue, including in the inter-agency meeting convened by President Aquino earlier this year to tackle the matter and find long-term and enduring solutions to the problem.

In response, Senate President Drilonassured the Korean government that the Aquino Administration is giving high-level and full attention to the issue. The Senate President further made a personal commitment to sit down with relevant Philippine agencies to study the possibility of signing an executive agreement that will strengthen cooperation between the two countries on criminal matters.

���I assure you that we will exert utmost effort in dealing with criminalities committed against Korean nationals in our country, and I personally commit that I will use my office to study how we can strengthen our cooperation on criminal matters.��� Senator Drilon said.

In addition to the issue on the safety of Koreans in the Philippines, Rep. Choi also discussed the matter of undocumented Filipinos in Korea, which, as of June 2015, exceeds 12,000.

Ambassador Raul S. Hernandez, who was also present at the said meeting with Rep. Choi, informed the parliamentarians of the Philippine Embassy���s unrelenting efforts in addressing the issue in close cooperation with the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) of Korea. Ambassador Hernandez further informed Rep. Choi of the policy proposals put forward by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz during her meeting with Minister Lee Ki-Kweon last month.

Rep. Choi gave his assurances to the Senate President that he will discuss this issue with the relevant Korean agencies, such as the MOEL, underscoring that it is in the mutual interest of the two countries to find a solution to this long-standing problem.

The Senate President was also able to feature the strong performance of the Philippines in recent years. Highlighting the average economic growth rate of 6.5% in the last five years, Senate President Drilon made a pitch before 18 senior officials from major Korean companies to consider investing and/or expanding their business in the country during the dinner hosted by Rep. Choi which also included other Korean Assembly Members, Representatives Kim Yong-Nam and Jasmine Lee.

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