(0:00:00) Thank you, Mr. Senate President, His Excellency, Ambassador Endo Kazuya, dear colleagues. Proverbs 11:14 tells us, for lack of guidance, a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisors. It is phenomenal how Japan rose from the ashes and the destruction of world war ii but it’s equally phenomenal how Japan built its relations with its neighbors and its status or reputation among the countries in the world in such a short period of time and while being a little bit sensitive but being bold, Japan still has issues now and then with Korea and China when it comes to World War II.
(0:01:12) So it is also phenomenal how in such a short period of time, Filipinos and Japanese or the Philippines and Japan went from bitter enemies to people doing business together, to preferred partners, and now enjoying a true brotherhood or sisterhood. So I remember your Excellency that during the time of President Duterte, there are a couple of times that we were in Japan and whether it was with the media or with businessmen.
(0:01:52) I would tell them very frankly that people my age and a little bit older, our grandparents, if you mention Japanese, they will really get mad. Because the horrors of World War II was still there. The cruelty suffered, the animosity, etc. Then when my dad was a, not young lawyer, but gitna na nang career niya, siguro 80s, mid 80s going to the 90s. Whether it’s law firms, whether it’s hotels, whether it’s mining, transportation, preferred partners were the Japanese. Even in tourism. Whether you talk about sa Cebu, you talk about areas in Mindanao, Baguio…
(0:02:46) Whether we had an official campaign or not, we really wanted to attract Japanese tourists. And during this time, slowly but surely, our development assistants and working with JBIC (Japan Bank for International Cooperation), JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), their consultants, the studies that they graciously provided…
(0:03:11) was it the LRT or… basta yung mga nauna nating mga trains and everything, sa airport. So we woke up one day where you have this intimate relationship. Then you wake up also with real-life disputes. In the West Philippine Sea, and of course, Japan and China also have a dispute. And then you wake up 2022, where no one said that there will really be a conflict of that magnitude between Ukraine and Russia. Then it’s happening.
(0:03:57) And then everyone says the Middle East is volatile, but suddenly Iran, Israel, U.S., and then the rest of the world is suffering. So my point, Mr. President, is the phenomenal rise of Japan and its people also presents so much opportunities. That’s why I like that verse, because nations need guides.
(0:04:26) And sometimes you need an outside guide. And the Japanese and the Japanese people, the Japanese businessmen, you know, can be not only a partner, but a wise counselor and guide to the Philippines. And also us in certain issues. For example, migration is now and then an issue in Japan. And of course, we have more than 10 million Filipinos abroad. And Japan has hosted many Filipinos.
(0:04:58) Sensitively, we were saying, because one of the problems, of course, of Japan is the birth rate. That’s why we, right? The population of Japan. And we were saying, you know, because usually Japanese couples only want one child. But when a Japanese and a Filipino gets together, whether the man is Filipino or the woman is Filipino, they don’t only want to have one child.
(0:05:24) They want to have at least two or three. So we were saying that even in that aspect, we can share some expertise in a bigger family. Unfortunately, this year, very steep din ang pagbagsak ng ating birth rate.
(0:05:45) Having said that, Mr. President, we’re here to honor the ambassador because in such a short period of time, he has done so much. So I think we’re unanimous, Your Excellency, in saying thank you. I know it’s for your country to say that you did a great job, but at least for Filipinos, we know that you did a great job. But we’re also here to say that culture matters.
(0:06:12) When you go to Japan, and unfortunately you leave your bag or your wallet somewhere, go back, it’s there, and it’s there. I mean, you don’t even have to go to the lost and found, no one will get it. Everyone, you go to a shop that you’re not gonna buy anything, and you say, where’s the restroom? And there’s no restroom there. They’ll excuse themselves, go out the door and walk with you for a while and point you where it is. So there’s a lot of things to learn in terms of culture.
(0:06:50) So I hope that the last few months of our ambassador here. Of course, we all hope you’re extended, but if not, the last few months, we can continue to work on more exchanges, more exchange students, more trips between the Japanese to the Philippines, the Filipinos to Japanese. You know, not just projects. We will not cement a relationship literally by just infrastructure projects using cement, but we will cement the relationship by people-to-people exchanges. And of course, we have a very good ambassador also in Japan. Not sure about the husband, but the ambassador is a very good ambassador.
(0:07:40) And lastly, we honor the leaders of Japan that regardless of our foreign policy, regardless who our president is, they’re there to help, they’re there to build bridges. Medyo nainggit din ako sa ibang mga colleagues natin especially kilala nila yung mga Prime Minister, Defense Minister. Yung iba may kilala silang mga artista nang Japan. Ako kasi ang kilala ko si Pikachu, Monkey D. Luffy, Nami, Blastoise, Psyduck. But I mentioned that just because, you know, even in…
(0:08:21) the cultural, artistic creations of Japan, may it be from Sanrio, Hello Kitty, to the present. So for example, when it comes to Pokemon and One Piece, young people are learning accounting, are learning trading, are learning… sabi ng Pangulo sa SONA, mag-impok ang mga bata. But actually, the trend is not in saving but investing.
(0:08:59) So, you know, people learn by experience rather than being taught. So you want better peace and order, go to Japan. There are tourist police or even their policies. You know, in Japan, if you bump into a woman, and you accidentally touch the sensitive parts, whatever. Sa presinto ka na magpapaliwanag, you have to go. There’s no excuses. That’s why people are so careful. You see, it’s so clean, but no one’s going there telling you, pick that up and et cetera. So I just wanted to emphasize that.
(0:09:38) More exposure, more trips, more people-to-people would really benefit, I think, both countries. So thank you, Majority Leader, for sponsoring this. 70 years, we should have a countdown to 75 is diamond, right? 75? Gold ang ano 50 eh. I think diamond ang 75.
(0:10:05) We should not wait till the 74th year to have a countdown to the diamond. We should have a five-year plan of how Philippines and Japan, and maybe an inter-parliamentary five-year countdown to the diamond year of our relationship with Japan. Thank you, Senate President, and magandang hapon.
