President Marcos returns from Canada visit

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos yesterday returned from his three-day official visit to Canada, a trip seen to further enhance the Philippines’ ties with the North American country that serves as a home to more than a million Filipinos.

The plane carrying Marcos and his delegation landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at 3:56 p.m.

Presidential Communications Secretary Dave Gomez described the foreign trip – Marcos’ 44th since becoming president in 2022 – as “successful.”

Gomez noted that Marcos was the first Philippine president to come to Canada on an official working visit in more than a decade.

“According to… Prime Minister Mark Carney... Canada treats the Philippines as one of its biggest partners in the Indo-Pacific economic and diplomatic relations,” he said in a video posted on YouTube.

Meanwhile, the President said the Philippines has asked the Canadian government to make its new migration law “very clear and very transparent” so Filipinos better understand the new regulations.

“The reason that we spoke about that is that there has been a change in the law here in Canada when it comes to the migration. To begin with, the quota for Filipino workers has been lessened,” Marcos said.

In his speech at the Filipino community gathering, he conveyed the Philippine government’s hope that Canada’s federal and provincial government would continue working together to address barriers to the recognition of credentials of Philippine-educated professionals.

Marcos had said the business engagements during his visit resulted in a total of $2.5 billion in investment from Canadian partners. — Helen Flores