PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is in New York to participate in high-level discussions in the United Nations, including the situation in the Middle East and women’s rights.
The chartered plane carrying Marcos and his delegation touched down at the Newark Liberty International Airport at 2:45 p.m. on Sunday (New York time).
During his two-day working visit, he will attend the opening of the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), where he will reaffirm the Philippines’ support to efforts championing the rights and empowerment of women and girls.
“My participation in the CSW signals the strong commitment of the Philippines to gender equality and women’s empowerment,” the president said in his departure statement.
“It is an opportunity to share the best practices of the Philippines, the challenges we face on women’s rights, and the lessons that can be learned from our own journey towards peace,” he added.
Marcos will meet with UN Secretary General António Guterres, where he will highlight the country’s commitment to multilateralism and international cooperation, and reiterate his administration’s call for rules-based international order.
The president will take the floor at the special session of the UN General Assembly to push the country’s bid for a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2027 to 2028.
“This candidature is about shared responsibility. It is about ensuring that the voice of the Philippines — and of developing countries — is heard at the highest forum of global peace and security,” he said.
Marcos will also address the General Assembly special session to be convened by Guterres just for the Philippines.
Apart from his UN-related activities, Marcos will also have meetings with American business leaders.
With the president on the trip are First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, Foreign Affairs Secretary Maria Theresa Lazaro, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac, Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr.; and PCO Acting Secretary Dave Gomez.
This is Marcos’ sixth visit to the US since 2022.
He designated Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, Education Secretary Sonny Angara, and Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III as caretakers of the government while he is away.
Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said that being a council member would benefit not just the Philippines but the entire Southeast Asian region.
The Security Council is a primary UN body charged with maintaining international peace and security, authorized to impose sanctions, authorize force, and dispatch peacekeepers.
It is made up of 15 members. Five of them — China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and the US — are permanent members with veto power, with the rest being nonpermanent members elected for two-year terms.
The Philippines was a nonpermanent member of the council in 1957, 1963, 1980-1981, and 2004-2005.
It was in 2022, when Marcos first visited the US as president, that he renewed the country’s bid for a nonpermanent seat.
All 193 UN member states will participate in voting for council seats in June.