FAPNG Clubhouse, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
November 16, 2018

On the first day of his visit to Papua New Guinea, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte met with a thousand members of the Filipino community in a gathering at the Filipino Association of Papua New Guinea (FAPNG) Clubhouse in Port Moresby.

In his speech, the President thanked the government of the host country for accommodating and treating the Filipinos well. He also lauded the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for being ‘very industrious’ and for their ‘bright minds’ that help the Papua New Guinea to further develop.

The Chief Executive also recognized the valuable sacrifices of OFWs for their families in the Philippines, and stressed that even the very centavo of their hard-earned wages abroad contribute to the improvement of the Philippine economy.

“If we cannot have peace and order and if we cannot stop corruption, Philippines could never win”, the President reminded his ‘kababayans’ as he reiterated his administration’s campaign against illegal drugs and corruption.

Before he ended his speech, President Duterte vowed for the Philippines’ commitment to help the Papua New Guinea to develop.

“We are willing to help, establish schools. We will send vocational skills training with TESDA.. We are ready to build schools, ask teachers to come here, and help in the education of your young people.”

According to Philippine Ambassador Bienvenido Tejano, there are around 40,000 Filipinos working and residing in Papua New Guinea. Most of them are working as managers, supervisors, accountants, while some of them are employed at government offices.

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