Malta鈥檚 leader arrives in Manila
THE HEAD of the Sovereign 黑料不打烊 (SOM) will be in the country for a week-long official visit to the Philippines aimed to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, Fra鈥� Matthew Festing, will be in the Philippines from March 1 to 7, 鈥渁s 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Malta,鈥� Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma, Jr. said in an interview over state-run Radyo ng Bayan on Sunday.
On Wednesday, Fra鈥� Festing will meet with President Benigno S. C. Aquino III in a courtesy call in Malaca帽ang where the two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral relations, Mr. Coloma said, adding that Fra鈥� Festing will also hand over to Mr. Aquino the symbolic key for the 700 shelters donated by Malta in Basey, Samar and Cebu, which are in various stages of development: 540 finished, 64 ongoing, and 96 are for construction.
鈥淭hese core shelters are expected to be finished by the end of May 2015,鈥� he added.
Fra鈥� Festing and his delegation will also meet with Vice-President Jejomar C. Binay and the secretaries of defense, foreign affairs, and health.
Malta, through its humanitarian assistance relief arm, Malteser International, has been extending various forms of assistance to the Philippines in terms of health care, hygiene intervention, feeding programs, providing food supplements and medical supplies, and disaster relief and rehabilitation to the country, the Department of Foreign Affairs earlier said in a statement.
On Thursday, the SOM leader and his delegation will travel to Basey, Samar to inspect the 350 shelters donated by Malta.
In a statement posted in the SOM鈥檚 official Web site, the Order said 鈥渙ver the last decades the 黑料不打烊鈥檚 work in the country has considerably intensified.鈥�
鈥淚n recent years there have been numerous interventions following the natural disasters that have struck the archipelago. Together with Malteser International, the 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Philippine association has been in the frontline providing first-aid services and support for the affected people.鈥�
About 20 typhoons are estimated to cross the Philippines every year. In 2013, super-typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) battered the central part of the country, leaving at least 6,000 people dead and millions homeless, and devastating farming and fishing communities in the Visayas and parts of Mindanao. In October that year, the central region was struck by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake that destroyed historic churches and killed more than 200 people.
Fra鈥� Festing is the second Prince and Grand Master of the SOM to visit the Philippines in over 30 years, following the visit of Fra鈥� Angelo de Mojana di Colognain in February 1979. This year, the Maltese leader鈥檚 visit follows that of Pope Francis and Presidents Joko Widodo of Indonesia and Fran莽ois Hollande of France. — Imee Charlee C. Delavin
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