President Rodrigo Roa Duterte congratulated H.E. Han Dong-man, outgoing Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea, on a successful tour of duty in the Philippines during the latter’s farewell call on 10 December 2020.
President Duterte thanked Ambassador Han for his valuable contributions in enhancing the bilateral relations between the Philippines and the Republic of Korea since he assumed post in January 2018.
President Duterte conferred on Ambassador Han Dong-man, the Order of Sikatuna, with the rank of Datu (Grand Cross), Gold Distinction. The Order of Sikatuna is the national order of diplomatic merit conferred upon diplomats, officials and nationals of foreign states who have rendered exceptional and meritorious services in fostering, developing, and strengthening relations between their country and the Philippines.
The President cited Ambassador Han for his “excellent diplomatic work”.
During Ambassador Han’s tenure, the Philippines and ROK increased the frequency of high-level exchanges and interactions, with President Duterte undertaking a bilateral visit to Seoul in 2018 and to Busan for the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit last year. President Duterte and President Moon Jae-in also met several times on the sidelines of multilateral meetings.
The President noted that in 2019 the ROK was the Philippines’ fifth largest trade partner, fourth largest ODA source, and fourth largest investor.
President Duterte thanked ROK for its resolute support for the Philippines’ development priorities and infrastructure drive, stressing that he is looking forward to the completion of joint key projects. These include the New Cebu International Container Port Project, Dumaguete Airport and the Capas-Botolan Road Project.
President Duterte highlighted broader and deeper cooperation between the Philippines and ROK in defense, security and maritime domain awareness.
President Duterte likewise recognized ROK’s timely emergency and humanitarian assistance in the Philippines’ counter-COVID-19 response, including donation of face masks and other personal protective equipment, medicines, test kits and rice.
The President also acknowledged ROK’s assistance in the repatriation of 2,137 Filipinos from Korea.
For his part, Ambassador Han thanked President Duterte for the latter’s commitment to elevate the special ties between the Philippines and the Republic of Korea which the President described as “at its highest levels so far”.
Ambassador Han reiterated the importance and value of Philippines-Republic of Korea relations and reaffirmed the ROK’s commitment to continue working with the Philippines to further strengthen cooperation across all areas of mutual concern.
Ambassador Han also expressed gratitude to the Filipino nation for its many contributions to peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula saying that the Republic of Korea would not enjoy peace and stability if not for the many sacrifices of friendly nations, including the Philippines.
