House ready for PH-US legislative engagements to strengthen ties — Romualdez

House Speaker Martin Romualdez. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives is ready for more engagements with their counterparts from the United States (US), as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. believes stronger ties can be forged by more interactions between the respective countries’ Congresses.

Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said on Thursday that they look forward to meeting lawmakers from both the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.

“We, at the House of Representatives, welcome the suggestion of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. that efforts to boost the long-standing bond of friendship between the Philippines and the United States should also involve the respective Legislative branches of the two countries,” Romualdez said.

“We are ready to take up that challenge, and we look forward to more engagements with our counterparts in the United States in the future,” he added.

Romualdez said Marcos’ call for stronger ties happened when he and members of the delegation met with key members of the US Senate, including Senator Robert Menendez, who chairs the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Marcos is currently in the US for a series of engagements, including bilateral talks with US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Other members of the said committee accompanied Menendez.  Marcos’ delegation meanwhile consisted of Romualdez, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, and Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual.

Romualdez insisted that foreign relations is no longer an exclusive role of the executive branch, adding that inter-parliamentary discussions have helped in strengthening nation-to-nation ties and the creation of laws that would help both countries.

“While the conduct of foreign relations is largely the domain of the Executive, engagements between the lawmakers of both countries would be of immense value in, for instance, harmonizing the legal framework governing their bilateral relations,” Romualdez said.

“We have actually taken the initiative to move toward the direction suggested by President Marcos,” he added.

Last April 20 — before Marcos went to the US — Romualdez has been meeting lawmakers from the US and other businesspeople, aside from attending lectures.  He said that he was laying down the groundwork and setting the conditions for Marcos’ trip.

READ: Romualdez says Congress also plays key role in foreign relations 

Romualdez said this months after his attendance on Marcos’ foreign trips was scrutinized by the public.   The President and at least two lawmakers, however, defended Romualdez’s presence, saying that there are businesspeople who ask questions that the legislature can answer. With reports from Maria Liezl Projella, INQUIRER.net trainee

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JPV/abc