Human rights were among the topics addressed by President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and German Ambassador to the Philippines Anke Reiffenstuel during the latter’s courtesy call on Tuesday morning.
Speaking to reporters, Reiffenstuel said both countries are committed to protecting human rights and guaranteeing the rule of law. She was asked about the funds that European nations, including Germany, allegedly donated to progressive groups.
“We discussed our commitment. We discussed our commitment regarding Germany’s continued commitment to protecting human rights and safeguarding the rule of law,” Reiffenstuel said. .
“We did not go into the details of the projects and the funding of the projects. As an example of Germany’s commitment, I mentioned Germany’s funding of the joint program on human rights”, she added.
Regarding the maritime sector, Reiffenstuel said she and Marcos had discussed their interest in protecting the sector by applying the rule of law.
“We are talking and we are exploring our common interest, our common interest in protecting the rules-based international order and the rule of law that needs to be involved also in the maritime sector. We have not gone into details, but we realized that we had a common interest in continuing the cooperation,” she said.
The two men also spoke about global food security which has been greatly affected by the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“We also discussed President-elect Marcos’ priority on food security and I briefed him on the upcoming international ministerial conference on global food security…” she said.
Earlier, Albay representative Joey Salceda said Marcos should have clear programs to address the country’s food security issues.
In a May 26 interview, Marcos said he would fix the value chain to bring down the price of rice. The value chain is the series of steps involved in producing a product or service that is sold to consumers, with each state adding to the value of the product or service.
Marcos also said he asked traders to freeze rice prices.
Trade relations and renewable energy sources were also discussed, according to the German envoy.
Besides the German Ambassador, Ambassador Jorge Moragas of Spain and Ambassador Mohammed Ride El Fassi of Morocco also paid courtesy visits to Marcos. —RSJ, GMA News
