THE country is now ready to receive foreign visitors, prospective investors, and parliamentarians, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said Tuesday.

He made the statement during a luncheon meeting with ambassadors of Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF)-member-countries at Shangri-La The Fort as part of the preparations for the APPF’s 31st annual conference the Philippines will host in November this year.

“Our dear Ambassadors, please extend our warmest invitation to our peers in your countries and let them know that the Philippines is very much open for business, and we have a lot to offer,” Speaker Romualdez said.

“This year, 2023, in Manila, your parliamentarians will rediscover another unique and rich culture, reflecting all three of our heritage our island nation ancestry, our deep Southeast Asian roots as well as our Latin American kinship,” he said.

Speaker Romualdez also said that the House of Representatives approved the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) and the proposals amending the restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution to further stimulate economic activities, create job opportunities, and provide better health care services for Filipinos

“Two of our more promising initiatives are the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) proposal and the efforts to amend the economic provisions
of our existing Constitution through a Constitutional Convention. These measures, we at the House of Representatives believe, will help create a more vibrant economy not only for the Philippines but also for the countries in the Asia-Pacific Region, by reducing, if not, totally eliminating economic barriers to investments. Indeed, there is so much more to look forward to,” Speaker Romualdez said.

Speaker Romualdez cited the foreign policy declaration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that the Philippines “is a friend to all, enemy to none.”

“Our country extends the open hand of friendship to our neighbors as we host the Asia Pacific Parliamentarians Forum this year. We are
excited to have your legislators here. I am sure that the Senate President shares this sentiment,” he said, referring to Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri. The Senate President chairs the 31st APPF, with Speaker Romualdez as co-chair.

The House leader told the ambassadors that he is looking forward to receiving and interacting with APPF lawmakers.

“Personally, I am eager to meet our counterparts from our neighboring countries. I am quite partial to face-to-face meetings. I find it easier to communicate, coordinate and provide support to each other when we are all physically present,” he said.

He cited APPF’s important role in “serving as a platform where parliamentarians from the Asia-Pacific parliamentarians can come together to promote regional peace and security, sustainable development and regional cooperation.”

“The recent pandemic has once again shown us how deeply inter-connected we all are. It is certain that the pandemic is not the last challenge that we will face as a region. Rather than build walls that isolate, to continue building bridges that foster understanding and cooperation is the wiser course of action. In unity is strength,” he said.

He said that through APPF, representatives of peoples from the Asia Pacific region could “engage with each other on equal footing, bringing large and small nations, from four continents to a common table.”

He thanked Zubiri and the Senate for leading the organization of this year’s APPF annual conference.

“I look forward to seeing everyone at the Forum later this year and working together to build a closer community of nations that advances
sustainable regional prosperity,” Speaker Romualdez said.

Among the ambassadors and diplomats who attended the luncheon meeting were those from Australia, Cambodia, Canada, and China. Colombia, Indonesia, Laos, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, United States of America, and Vietnam; to the Deputy Chiefs of Mission from Japan and Korea; to the Charge d’ Affaires from Malaysia, Mexico, and Brunei; to the Honorary Consuls from Fiji, Marshall Islands, Peru, and Mongolia.