Marcos to push through with China state visit despite COVID-19 surge

Despite soaring COVID-19 cases in China, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. will still push through with his state visit in Beijing next week, an official from the Department of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.

According to DFA Assistant Secretary Nathaniel Imperial, Marcos' trip to China is scheduled from January 3 to 5. The state visit is upon the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"Ang ating ugnayang panlabas sa China ay napakaimportante (Our relations with China is very important) and we have received assurances from our Chinese host that all arrangements are being made to ensure the safety of the President and the delegation during the visit," Imperial said.

"A bubble arrangement has been agreed for the Philippine delegation to minimize the risk of exposure to the virus. May mga pagbisita talaga na hindi natin puwedeng ipostpone (There are some visits that we could not postpone)," he added.

Imperial said every precaution is being undertaken to ensure that no member of the Philippine delegation will not get infected and will not bring back to the Philippines any variants of the virus.

He explained that if in any case a member of the Philippine delegation tested positive for COVID-19, the protocols being enforced in China must be followed. The patient must be placed in quarantine.

"Kailangan natin sundin siyempre ang mga protocols and restrictions ng Chinese government for the rest of delegation. Kung mayroon mang mag-positibo, natural na kailangan siyang magquarantine at maisolate hanggang gumaling siya (In case one tests positive, he/she needs to be quarantine and isolated until he/she recovers)," Imperial said.

"And only then will that person be allowed to return to the Philippines," he added.

"Of course, that person cannot join the flight of the President for obvious reasons, right? So that person will have to wait until he tests negative before that person can go back to the Philippines," Imperial said, adding that the country should also be protected from new coronavirus variants.

Asked who will shoulder the expenses of the patient, Imperial said: That's being worked out between two sides."

Reports said that Chinese doctors are saying hospitals are overwhelmed with five-to-six-times more patients than usual, most of them elderly. International health experts estimate millions of daily infections and predict at least one million COVID-19 deaths in China next year.

Due to the current COVID-19 situation in China, Marcos will not meet with the Filipino community there, Imperial said. During his previous trips abroad, the President allotted time to meet with Filipinos living and working in the countries he was visiting.

Before assuming the presidency, Marcos said in a speech on June 10 that China is the Philippines’ "strongest partner" and that he sees the future of the two countries "developing in many ways."

The President, however, swore to protect national sovereignty by speaking to Beijing "with a firm voice” with regard to the maritime dispute in the South China Sea, a part of which Manila refers to as the West Philippine Sea.

Marcos earlier told Chinese officials on the sidelines of ASEAN Summit in Cambodia to uphold international law and follow the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) regarding areas of the South China Sea as he gave importance to the impact of trade that flows through the region. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News