Lawmakers from 28 countries meet in Manila
THE 31st Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF31) in Manila began on Wednesday (November 23) at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.
Senate President Juan Miguel «Migz» Zubiri said the 31st Annual Meeting of the APPF, hosted by the Philippine Congress, brings together the parliaments of 28 member-countries in the Asia-Pacific region, covering Southeast Asia, Oceania, Northeast Asia and the Americas.
As one of the founding members of the forum, the Philippines hosted the Second Annual Meeting of the APPF in 1994.
APPF 2023 is the second time the Philippines has hosted the event in 31 years.
«The Philippines has consistently participated in APPF's Annual Meetings as we find great value in the various deliberations with our fellow parliamentarians, especially on key issues relating to regional security, transnational crime, free and fair trade, climate change adaptation and sustainable development, migration, and most recently, on global health pandemics and ensuring post-pandemic economic recovery,» said Zubiri.
The Philippines' hosting of APPF31 also comes in the same year that the country officially joined the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
«This is a great start for the President's administration to show that the Philippines is once again open to the international community, in this period of post-pandemic recovery,» the Senate chief said in an earlier statement.
Zubiri pointed out that Manila's hosting of the APPF31 meeting demonstrates the readiness of the Philippines «to re-engage with the world and to take on responsibility as an active member in our community of nations and especially in the affairs of the Asia-Pacific region.»
He asked for the assistance of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in ensuring the safety and protection of the more than 300 parliamentarians and their delegations in the country.
«We need the help of the office of the DILG Secretary, together with the Chief PNP, because we must ensure the safety of more than 300 legislators and their delegations to prevent any untoward incidents,» said Zubiri during the plenary
