PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is in Brussels for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-European Union (ASEAN-EU) summit where he is expected to push for the country’s priorities, particularly on trade, maritime cooperation and climate change response.
This foreign trip, the last for PBBM for the year, is important because the summit marks the first meeting of ASEAN and EU leaders at the EU headquarters, and with the Ukraine-Russia war still raging and both Europe and Asia are reeling from inconveniences that any conflict area in the globe bring, direct and personal discussions among leaders might bring pockets of mitigation from the economic hardship.
“In addition to pursuing Asean interest as country coordinator for the EU, I will always as certainly push for Philippine priorities within the context of the Asean-EU cooperation, particularly in post-pandemic economic recovery and trade, maritime cooperation and of course climate action,” the President said.
‘These are motherhood statements that do not mean much for ordinary Filipinos, because these same global concerns were discussed in the last Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and other international forums.’
The Department of Foreign Affairs said the member-states will celebrate 45 years of ASEAN-EU relations during the summit and will hold discussions on issues concerning both regional organizations, which include global and regional security challenges, sustainable development and economic cooperation, etc.
These are motherhood statements that do not mean much for ordinary Filipinos, because these same global concerns were discussed in the last Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and other international forums.
Nearer the concerns of many Filipinos is the problem of our seafarers working in ships of member-nations of the European Union. For several years during the Duterte administration, Pinoy seamen and manning agencies have failed to satisfy Emsa’s (European Maritime Safety Authority) standards relating to certification, training, and watch-keeping.
Critics and several senators have pointed out that if Filipino seamen fail again in the next Emsa inspection, tens of thousands of Filipino seafarers aboard European vessels are at risk of losing their jobs.
An aggressive diplomatic initiative from President Marcos towards the EU, along with a strict monitoring of programs of MARINA and Commission on Higher Education involving education and training of seafarers, could buy time for the local maritime industry to shape up and prevent the loss of jobs by thousands of our mariners.
While in Brussels to meet with leaders of Belgium, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Finland, the Netherlands and the EU, President Marcos should consider taking a crack at this problem.
