Maraming, maraming salamat sa ating Foreign Affairs Secretary, Secretary Tess Lazaro. [Please, magsiupo po tayo.]
At pasalamatan natin ‘yung mga performers natin. Ang galing-galing. Talaga naman… [applause]
Lagi tayong nagpapasikat basta sa kantahan at saka sa sayawan. Pero dito sa India, kinukompetensiya ninyo yata ‘yung Bollywood eh. [laughter] Mukhang marami na kayong natutunan.
Magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat at nandito po kami upang tanggapin ang naging imbitasyon ni Prime Minister Modi para makabisita kami dito.
At kasama ko po – ito na yata ang pinakamarami na Cabinet secretary na nakasama ko sa biyahe sa abroad. [applause]
Ito ay ang nagbibigay – nagpapakita kung anong halaga ang ibinibigay natin sa itong biyahe na ito, itong bisita na ito, dahil maraming-marami talaga tayong iniisip na maaaring gawin dito sa India kasama ang Pilipinas.
Kaya’t pagkatapos na kumanta si Ambassador – dito lang – ngayon lang ako nakakitang ambassador na… [cheers and applause]
Ano ‘yan, “karaoke diplomacy”. [laughter] Bagay na bagay ‘yan sa atin mga Pilipino.
Kaya’t ang sinabi – noong pag-upo niya sinabi ko sa kanya, pagkatapos nitong trip namin dito, magkakaroon kayo sa embassy ng napakaraming – napakaraming trabaho. [applause]
Ipapakilala ko sa inyo lahat ng ating mga Secretary, mga kalihim ng iba’t ibang departamento ng ating pamahalaan.
Nandiyan po si Finance Secretary Ralph Recto. [applause]
Nandiyan din po si Agriculture Secretary Francis Kiko Laurel. [applause]
Ang National Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro. [applause]
Ang ating Health Secretary, Secretary Ted Herbosa. [applause]
Ang Secretary natin sa Department of Trade and Industry, Secretary Cris Roque. [applause]
Pati local government sinama na namin, nandito ‘yung Kalihim ng DILG, Secretary Jonvic Remulla. [applause]
At dahil talagang nais natin na maparami ang bisita galing sa India na pupuntang Pilipinas and, of course, the other way around, the Filipinos who will come to India, nandito rin po ang ating Tourism Secretary, Secretary Christina Frasco. [applause]
Para po sa mga bagong teknolohiya na nais nating pag-aralan dito sa India at baka maturuan tayo, baka mayroon din tayong maipamahagi sa kanila na nanggaling sa ating karanasan, nandito po ang Department of Science and Technology Secretary, Secretary Renato Solidum. [applause]
Ito po ang isa pang napakahalagang bagay sa panahong ito dahil ito ngayon digital age na kung tawagin. At ang India ay marami talagang nagawa at saka leading sila sa teknolohiya at saka sistema ng mga digital. Kaya’t isinama din po natin ang ating DICT Secretary, Secretary Henry Aguda. [applause]
At ang Secretary ninyo, para sa ating mga OFW, sa ating mga – lahat hindi lamang OFW kundi lahat ng mga Pilipino na nakatira, nagtratrabaho, nasa labas ng Pilipinas, nandito rin po Migrant Workers Secretary, Secretary Hans Cacdac. [applause]
At muli, nakilala na po natin ang ating Ambassador, Ambassador to the Republic of India Josel Ignacio. [applause]
Another organization that has been created for all of our Filipino nationals abroad, ang OWWA, ang OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne Caunan. [applause]
At hindi naman siguro makumpleto ang aking pagbati kung hindi ko batiin ang aking kapisik. Ang tawag sa Ilocano – kapisik puso.
The classic translation to that is the lady who shares my pillow, the First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos. [laughter and applause]
Nako, delikado ako mamaya. Hindi ako nakuha sa tingin. [laughter]
Lahat ng aking kasama sa pamahalaan. Siyempre ang aking minamahal na kababayan na nandito sa India, maraming, maraming salamat sa inyong pagdating.
Magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat. [applause]
We are now here to undertake a State Visit on the very cordial invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and also, we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of our diplomatic relations with India.
For seven and a half decades, we have had excellent relations with India.
But tomorrow, this relationship is going to receive a major boost, a major upgrade, as the Prime Minister and I inaugurate a Strategic Partnership between the Philippines and India.
This means that from now on, our cooperation will intensify further and become even more impactful in many, many areas that we had not explored with India before such as defense, trade and investment, health, tourism, other areas.
Napakalaking bansa ang India at napakalawak ang mga larangan kung saan maaaring kapwang makinabang ang ating dalawang bansa.
Subalit saan man po tayo magtungo, ang pakikipag-kamustahan sa ating Filipino Community ang tuwina’y pangunahin sa ating agenda.
Dahil ‘pag nakikita namin kayo, being able to meet with you, to interact with you, our compatriots, is of always of great joy and delight. But more than this, being with you reminds us and impresses once more upon us, that our overriding mission in every foreign visit is to improve the lot and the lives of Filipinos, both in our motherland and outside of the Philippines all around the world.
Dala-dala po natin ito, sa lahat ng ating pakikipag-usap at pagpupulong sa mga susunod na araw, at maging sa mga kasunduang ating lalagdaan dito sa New Delhi.
I understand that across the vastness of this country, we have a few thousand Filipinos, including about 200 here in New Delhi.
The vast majority of our Filipino Community in India, I am told, are Filipino women married to Indian nationals. Your presence here with your husband and your children is an illustration of the strong, foundational place of the family in our respective societies.
Our community also includes Filipino professionals in diverse fields such as international organizations, the IT industry, engineering, marine agriculture, textiles, the academe, think tanks.
Maging ina, maybahay, propesyonal, o anuman pong gawain, [ipinagmamalaki] nating lubos ang inyong pagtataguyod ng napakagandang pangalan at pagkilala sa ating bansa, sa pamamagitan ng inyong husay, ng inyong galing, at pakikipag-kapwa-tao.
You have made an excellent portrait of the Filipino to the rest of the world. Even across the vastness of India, you are cohesive, you are ready to lend support – to each other, to our countrymen in need, and to the work of our Embassy. Most importantly, you have displayed an unremitting support for the Republic.
And so, I thank you for your support for this Administration and its programs, and our governance towards [the] attainment of a Bagong Pilipinas.
We have just crossed the half-way mark of our term, and the second chapter of our service to our people. We have done to date, and are proud to say, we’ve carried out some key achievements.
Notwithstanding remaining challenges, our economy continues to be in ascendance. Data bears this out: our beloved Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies in ASEAN. In the first quarter, we grew 5.4%.
We are working towards attaining 6% for this entire year of 2025.
We continue to pay attention to raising the quality of our infrastructure. And recently, we have expanded our rail networks, deploying additional rolling stock [for] MRT3. We launched the Pamilya Pass 1+3 program, as well as the 50% discount for seniors, PWDs, and students.
For your convenience and that of other OFWs who regularly travel to and from the Philippines, we continue to improve all our facilities, our NAIA terminals, as well as those of our regional airports, especially in popular tourist destinations. Now, there are OFW Lounges for all of your comfort.
We continue to pay attention to the challenges of small-scale enterprises and extend to them various assistance programs.
We are focused on job and livelihood generation, working in concert with the private sector.
Being in India, you will be pleased to know that we are ramping up our relations with this country, now the fourth largest economy in the world.
In the coming days, our delegation will be engaging not only the government of Prime Minister Modi, but also India’s biggest enterprises. We would like to see them invest more and generate more jobs back home.
We are bridging and facilitating travel and people-to-people ties between us. Last year, our Embassy launched the e-Visa, which greatly eased the visa process. But we did not stop there. We launched the visa-free entry scheme for Indian tourists last June.
These will be complemented soon by the recovery of direct flights, led by Air India. [applause]
We are determined to expand this to other carriers and to link other cities between the Philippines and India.
Certainly, our Administration is committed to looking after your broader welfare.
Even as we do not have a Migrant Workers Office or MWO in India, your welfare and rights are steadfastly looked after by our government through our Embassy, with the assistance of our Honorary Consulates General in Chennai, Mumbai, and Kolkata.
You will be pleased to know that, as part of this visit, we will also sign the Social Security Agreement between Philippines and India.
Kaya po ngayong gabi, ako ay nagpapaabot ng pasasalamat sa inyong lahat. Ang inyo pong pagsuporta ay hindi lamang sa ating Administrasyon. Sa bandang-huli, ang inyo pong suporta ay para sa ating bansa at sa ating mahal na Republika.
You are also, in many ways, ambassadors of our country. Let us be exemplars of the aspirations and the standards that we set for ourselves as Filipinos, marching under the banner of Bagong Pilipinas. [applause]
Mabuhay po kayo. Nagpapasalamat po ang buong Pilipinas sa lahat ng inyong ginagawa.
Magandang gabi po sa inyo!
Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! [applause]
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