Palau president thanks Filipinos for saving his father's life, helping Palau's development

Manila Bulletin

Visiting the Philippines has reminded Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. of the "skillful and talented" medical Filipino personnel who have taken care of his father when he was admitted at a hospital in Makati City in 1986.  READ: https://mb.com.ph/2025/2/24/palau-president-thanks-filipinos-for-saving-his-father-s-life-helping-palau-s-development  Subscribe to the Manila Bulletin Online channel! - https://www.youtube.com/TheManilaBulletin  Visit our website at http://mb.com.ph Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manilabulletin Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/manila_bulletin Instagram: https://instagram.com/manilabulletin Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@manilabulletin  #ManilaBulletinOnline #ManilaBulletin #LatestNews

Transcript

00:00President Marcos, first of all, Ali, and warm greetings from Palau.

00:09It is indeed a great honor to be able to come and visit the Philippines on our first official

00:18visit, and we want to thank you for the warm hospitality we've received since our arrival.

00:27I think it just shows the Filipino spirit and the Filipino, really, their hospitality,

00:34and we're just grateful.

00:36You make us feel at home, so thank you.

00:40And maybe it's because we have so many Filipinos at home in Palau.

00:45You know, I was sharing earlier that there's over 4,000 Filipinos that now, I guess you

00:53could say, call Palau home, and we are grateful for all that they do in the development of

00:58our young nation, from engineers to doctors to accountants to nurses, and helping us in

01:08the tourism sector, and of course, most importantly, construction and helping us build our bridges

01:13and our hotels and everything else.

01:16So we are truly grateful for the Filipino brothers and sisters that have come to Palau

01:23and helped us in our development.

01:25We're also grateful for the many Palauans that have come to the Philippines and have

01:30been able to study here and get educated, but at the same time, we're grateful for,

01:37over the years, the medical partnership.

01:39So many people have been to the Philippines and have been able to receive medical care

01:46here in Palau.

01:47In fact, in 1986, my father was burned, 65% of his body was burned.

01:57He was medevaced here to Palau and was at Makati Med for over three months, receiving

02:03care, and they saved his life.

02:05And we celebrate February 21st, which is his rebirth, or his birthday, because he doesn't

02:11know the actual date he was born, but we're grateful to the, really, the skillful and

02:18talented medical facilities and people that you have here that have been able to save

02:23lives and improve the lives of our people, extend their lives.

02:28Of course, we're here to further expand and strengthen our relationship as we face geopolitical

02:35challenges and also the greatest existential threat, which is climate change.

02:41And congratulations on the Philippines being the host of the Loss and Damage Fund.

02:46I think it's so appropriate because the Pacific suffers the most from the impacts of climate

02:53change.

02:54And now, more than ever, we need to be together to support each other in these challenges

02:59that we have.

03:00So we're looking forward to the meetings and continued collaboration in strengthening the

03:07bond between our two nations.

03:12As we now meet in Manila, our hope is to further expand our engagements in practical and impactful

03:20ways, from agriculture and fisheries to development and technical cooperation.

03:27As climate-vulnerable, developing, archipelagic Pacific nations confronting the challenges

03:32of natural disasters and sea level rising, our two countries understand the urgency of

03:39effective disaster risk management and collective climate action.

03:43We hope to further advance our mutual support in various fora in these critical areas.

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