23 June – 2016 marks the 70th anniversary of formal diplomatic ties between the United States and the Philippines. In observance of the anniversary, a mural (by renowned Filipino artist Dominic Rubio of Laguna) was unveiled in June at the newly
renovated former Philippine Embassy chancery building in Washington,
30 June – We laud President Rodrigo Duterte’s first order to all Cabinet secretaries to reduce requirements and processing time of all applications across all agencies and remove redundancies in these requirements and to respect the sanctity of contracts.
We further laud his statement that the country will honor all existing treaties and international obligations. We are encouraged as well by his call for inclusivity in the ongoing and other peace processes, particularly of indigenous peoples.