Philippine Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam
May 26, 2024

Highlighting the very rich, enduring and multi-faceted relations between the Philippines and Brunei Darussalam, Ambassador Marian Jocelyn Tirol-Ignacio sees the forthcoming state visit of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to its Southeast Asian neighbor as deeply significant in further solidifying 40 years of bilateral ties and turning a new chapter in the two nations’ partnership.

“We have been very grateful to His Majesty for his compassion and his show of concern and his very strong friendship that he’s always shown to the Philippines. He’s always been there I think during times of disaster. They have been there in the time that we needed support for the peace process in Mindanao, so this is very important. In the meantime, the President has always taken, I think, a very proactive stance when it comes to addressing regional peace and security issues, something in fact that is shared by Brunei Darussalam. Brunei and the Philippines both want to do things in a very peaceful way. But we’re both committed as ASEAN Member States to a region that is peaceful, that is stable so that we will be able to develop, we can create a prosperous region for our peoples,” the Ambassador says in an interview with RTVM.

Economic cooperation is a substantial portion of the President’s discussion with His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah as Brunei Darussalam is currently diversifying its economy while the Philippines pursues its development agenda. Several memoranda of understanding (MOUs) on maritime cooperation, tourism and agricultural cooperation to attain food security are expected to be inked between the two countries.

“I think the presence of the Chief Executive and his economic managers provide a really strong signal to Brunei Darussalam on our intention to be able to promote and deepen our economic relationship with them. It is I think very important to stress the fact that also there are so many opportunities that are currently available in the Philippines now for Brunei to look at and to invest in,” Ambassador Tirol-Ignacio adds.

Touting the diverse group of the almost 23,000 Filipinos in Brunei Darussalam, the Ambassador shares the excitement and great anticipation of the Filipino community to personally meet President Marcos Jr. and listen to his keynote message.

“You know, the Filipino community has been in Brunei since it started. Since they gained their independence. That’s a really long time, 40 years. In fact, we hear a lot of stories where Filipinos talk about when they had arrived in Brunei even prior to independence, and even then they had already contributed. So, they were this country’s first teachers, first nurses, you know, they were counted among those first architects, first engineers. You know, we really helped and contributed to the building of this nation,” the Filipino envoy underscores.

President Marcos Jr. embarks on his first State Visit to Brunei Darussalam on 28-29 May 2024, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of Philippines-Brunei diplomatic relations.

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