WASHINGTON D.C. -
Philippine Ambassador to the US Albert del Rosario inducted the newly-elected
officers of the World Bank Group/IMF Filipino Association led by its president
Ms. Solita Wakefield at the IMF
Building June 16.
In his brief remarks, the Ambassador
underscored how the Association has positively impacted the Philippines by
helping the Filipino people and expressed amazement over the fact that the
Association, in 15 days’ time, has already embarked on five projects. The envoy
said: “You have the heart – the most important – as well as the capability and
the resources to help our people.”
Speaking of the vital contributions of
the members of the Filipino-American community to their native country,
Ambassador del Rosario said that in the last ten years preceeding 2005,
remittances from Filipinos in the US increased by 10%. Last year, he
added, such remittances increased by 31% compared to the previous year and that
60% of total global remittances come from the US. “The impact of this has been
tremendous in terms of strengthening the peso which improves the capability of
the Philippines
to service its foreign debt and to curb its budget deficit,” the envoy said.
Bidding the Association’s officers a
farewell, Ambassador del Rosario further said:
“The Embassy has had initiatives but it
would have failed miserably without your support. I’ve had the good fortune of
being embraced by you in the warmest way, you’ve supported me, you’ve protected
me. I’m sad in leaving the US
but everything must come to an end. I look forward to serving our country as a
private citizen. I’ll always look back to the five years I’ve spent with you as
being an important part of my life, as having made supportive friends, so I
hope the friendship will be lifelong. We will continue to be in touch; we will
find ways of working together. I want you to think about how you can be
represented in the US
in a strong way. There’s no reason why you should have a few congressmen in the
US Congress and I’m sure anyone of you will be in a position of good
leadership.”
In response, Ms. Wakefield expressed the
Association’s appreciation for his support, noting Ambassador del Rosario’s
presence in all the occasions to which he had been invited by the Association.
She added: “We will miss you and your leadership which has inspired us and we
will continue our commitments to our (native) country because that’s where our
heart is.”
