Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri led the Philippine senators in meeting with King Felipe VI of Spain on October 23 at the Palacio de la Zarzuela in Madrid.
The King of Spain received the delegation for a private meeting at the palace to discuss how best to strenghten the friendship and partnership between the Philippines and Spain, particularly in the areas of trade and industry, security and defense, and people-to-people exchanges.
Zubiri said the meeting “marks another important milestone in our countries’ deep and enduring friendship.”
King Felipe emphasized he finds an opportunity to build on the people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, especially given the vital presence of migrant Filipino workers in Spain.
Joining Zubiri in the delegation were Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, and Senators Sonny Angara, Grace Poe, Pia Cayetano, Nancy Binay, JV Ejercito, and Mark Villar, and Philippine Ambassador to Spain Philippe Lhuillier and Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines Miguel Utray.
“With his Majesty’s support, we hope to usher in a new era of revitalized Philippine-Spanish relations anchored on our shared history spanning five hundred years,” the Senate President said.
As part of the official parliamentary visit, the Philippine delegation was also received at the Spanish Senate by Senate President Pedro Rollán in a bid to strengthen ties of friendship and cooperation towards prosperity of both countries.
Zubiri was also ecstatic to see one of the masterpieces by Juan Luna—also recognized as a maestro (artistic master) in Spain—displayed in the Senate.
Further, with an invitation from the British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union, Zubiri together with Senators Grace Poe and Bong Go flew to United Kingdom and met with members of the UK Parliament. Their discussion with Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsday Hoyle centered on how to bolster the PH-UK cooperation on defense and security, renewable energy, public health, trade and industry, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges. Zubiri noted there are currently over 200,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in UK, and UK is also the biggest tourist market of the Philippines in all of Europe.
Another highlight of the official UK visit was a meeting with Speaker of the House of Lords John McFall—Zubiri’s counterpart as the Senate President—including Lord Jack McConnell, known to have helped in forming the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). They discussed UK’s support on security and defense modernization, and peace process initiatives of the Philippines.
