INCOMING president Rodrigo Duterte said that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called him Tuesday afternoon and discussed matters on strengthening ties between both countries.
Duterte reaffirmed good relationship with Canada by apologizing to Trudeau over the beheading of Canadian John Ridsdel by the Abu Sayyaf in April this year.
“Mr. Prime Minister please accept the apologies, I am very sorry, I apologize for the incident, which resulted to the killing of your national and we will try our very best to see to it that nothing of this will happen again,” he said in a press conference Wednesday midnight at the Royal Mandaya Hotel, Davao City.
He added that Trudeau can be rest assured that the perpetrators responsible for the unfortunate incident will be apprehended and justice will be served in due time.
Currently, another Canadian citizen identified as Robert Hall, remains in the hands of the Abu Sayaff. The group is threatening that Hall will be beheaded soon if left unpaid with their ransom demand.
Duterte and Trudeau also talked about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights wherein Duterte vowed to abide and implement.
Also, both country leaders reaffirmed the partnership and cooperation of both countries.
“We will remain partners (with Canada) for all time,” Duterte said.
The also commended the Canadian government of protecting the welfare of the Filipino workers in Canada.
“We have a lot of Filipino workers in Canada and I am happy that they have found protection even in the labor laws. I thanked the Canadian government for safeguarding and ensuring opportunities and protection for many Filipinos in their country,” he said.
He described that the Filipino workers in Canada are like Canadian citizens who has light and satisfactory jobs.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (CCCP) is gearing up for the drafting of the specific scope of the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) to further boost bilateral trade between the two countries.
The FTA was first eyed when former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the launching of the possibility of exploring the FTA after the three-day state visit to Canada of President Benigno Aquino III last May 7-9, 2015.
Canadian chamber president Julian H. Payne, in a previous interview said that the agreement will go ahead as Canada always welcome trade agreements.
"I anticipate that this will go ahead but we must put it into account that both governments should remain to be interested with the proposed FTA," he said.
If the Philippines-Canada FTA will push through, it will be considered as a unique trade agreement between the both governments.
The comprehensive FTA, once approved, will be Canada's first trade agreement with a country from the Southeast Asia.