President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday thanked outgoing Singaporean Ambassador to the Philippines Gerard Ho Wei Hong for his contribution to improving the overall relations between the Philippines and Singapore.

Marcos expressed his heartfelt appreciation to Ho for all that he has done for the Philippines in a farewell call at the Study Room in Malacañang.

He particularly noted that an increase in trade and investment volumes from Singapore was felt in the country under Ho’s ambassadorship.

He conferred the Order of Sikatuna with the Rank of Datu (Grand Cross) Silver Distinction to the Singaporean envoy in recognition of his significant contributions to strengthening the partnership between the two countries.

According to the citation, Ambassador Ho’s notable contributions include his support and facilitation of numerous government-to-government cooperation agreements in the areas of economic, security and people-to-people exchanges; as well as his efforts to obtain and provide humanitarian assistance to the country in times of natural disasters and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Ho’s initiatives to foster amity and mutual appreciation between the peoples of the Philippines and Singapore were also recognized.

Ho completed his four-year tour of duty in the Philippines as Singapore’s top diplomat. (PNA)

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