I Love Israel: Israel looking forward to stronger bilateral ties with the Philippines under the administration of incoming President Marcos and Vice President Duterte

This past May 25, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. and Sara Duterte were officially proclaimed the duly elected President and Vice President of the Philippines during the joint session of Congress. Marcos and Duterte, who won their respective contests in the May 9, 2022 national elections under their UniTeam banner, will officially take office on June 30, 2022 and will serve for six years. Marcos and Duterte are both majority winners in the separate contests for President and Vice President, and each had more than thirty million voters.

In relation to this, the Embassy of Israel posted through Facebook two picture posts dated May 25, 2022 congratulating Marcos for his proclamation, and a message addressed to Duterte (note: the daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte) expressing optimism that the friendly relations between Israel and the Philippines will be boosted further under her leadership. For transparency, posted below are screenshots of the Facebook posts…

Quite interestingly, the Manila Bulletin published on Thursday an article stating that Israel is confident of boosting ties with the Philippines under VP-elect Duterte’s leadership and it made a reference to the May 25, 2022 FB post (pictured above). It is quite a detailed article and it has references to the landmark 2018 Israel visit of President Rodrigo Duterte and the historical links between the Philippines and Israel.

To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from report of the Manila Bulletin article dated May 26, 2022. Some parts in boldface…

Israel has expressed confidence that its friendly ties with the Philippines will improve under the leadership of Vice President-elect Sara Duterte-Carpio as the middle eastern nation congratulated her.

The Israel Embassy in the Philippines said this after Duterte’s proclamation as the duly elected vice president of the Philippines after a landslide victory in the 2022 polls.

In a Facebook post, the Embassy said it is looking forward to Duterte’s next visit to Israel in her new capacity.

“Mazal Tov Vice President-elect Sara Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio!” the post read.

“We are optimistic that our friendly relations will boost further under your leadership. We look forward to your next visit to Israel… as the VP!”

The Vice President-elect went to Israel in September 2018 with her father, President Duterte. The older Duterte’s four-day trip to Jerusalem was historic as he was the first Philippine president to visit the Holy Land officially.

President Duterte explained that he had brought the Davao City mayor with him because of her mother’s Jewish roots.

The father of Elizabeth Zimmerman — Duterte’s ex-wife and Sara’s mother — was a German Jew who escaped Nazi Germany and obtained a Philippine visa alone with around 1,300 other European Jews.

Former Foreign Affairs deputy director-general for Asia-Pacific Affairs Gilad Cohen described Sara’s visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem as a “closure.”

“Sara Duterte (Zimmerman) is #Davao Mayor, the #Philippines. She is President Duterte’s daughter, and her #Jewish grandfather found shelter in [the Philippines] before WWII when President Quezon opened the gates for Jews who fled Germany. A closure here in [Israel] at Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum,” he wrote in 2018.

The Philippine Commonwealth government’s open-door policy accommodated Jews who fled Europe from 1935 to 1941.

The Holocaust was the state-sponsored persecution and murder of around 6 million Jews by the Nazis who came to power in Germany in January 1933.

During their visit, President Duterte wrote the words “Never again” when he signed the guest book of the Yad Vashem at the Children’s Memorial Hall, referring to the persecution and murder of six million Jews during World War II by the Nazi regime and its collaborators.

“May the hearts of peoples around the world remain ever open. And may the minds of all men and women learn to work together towards providing a safe haven for all who are being persecuted,” he added.

While I find it strange that President-elect Marcos was not mentioned in Manila Bulletin’s article, I still am optimistic that Israel-Philippine ties will keep on growing stronger and there will be more cooperation and special projects between them. Truly this is something we should be thankful to the Lord for.

If you truly believe in Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God the Heavenly Father wholeheartedly and you continue to be faithful (not religious), you should be aware that Christians are meant to stand united with Israel, love the Jewish people and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. You can do your part supporting Israel by donating to Christians United for Israel (CUFI). Do not forget to read the Holy Bible, then pray in tongues to the Lord in the privacy of your room with the door shut. With regards to the incoming President Bongbong Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte, I urge you all to pray for them. Pray that they will open their hearts to the Lord, look up to Him and follow His guiding light as they govern the entire Philippines in the years to come.

Always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus! Always stand in support of Israel! Help build the ties between the State of Israel and the Republic of the Philippines!

In ending this I Love Israel piece, posted below are Israel-related videos for your viewing pleasure and enlightenment. Also included is an extensive Philippine video about the Marcos-Duterte proclamation.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/  and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco/