The Philippine Presidential Palace has issued a memorandum circular to loosen the strict restrictions on government officials’ exchanges with Taiwan in the past thirty-plus years, in order to expand opportunities to attract Taiwanese investments and promote economic and trade cooperation.
According to the Official Gazette of the Philippine government, the Presidential Palace released Memorandum Circular No. 82 on April 21st, which relaxes the restrictions on officials’ interactions with Taiwan that were set by former President Corazon Aquino through Executive Order No. 313 in 1989.
Lucas Bersamin, the Administrative Officer of the Philippine Presidential Palace, signed the new memorandum circular on behalf of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on April 15th.
Under the original Executive Order No. 313, all Philippine government officials were prohibited from visiting Taiwan, meeting with Taiwanese officials, or engaging in official exchanges with Taiwan without approval from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
With the new memorandum circular, except for the President, Vice President, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Defense, other government officials are allowed to travel to Taiwan for economic, trade, and investment purposes using regular passports and without official titles.
Before traveling to Taiwan, these relevant government officials must coordinate with the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), and after the trip, they are required to submit reports to MECO and the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.
This means that Philippine government officials visiting Taiwan in the future only need to inform MECO in Manila, without the necessity of approval from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, considering the Philippines’ diplomatic relations with China and the limited flexibility on the “One China Policy.”
Furthermore, Memorandum Circular No. 82 also permits Philippine government officials to meet with Taiwanese delegations for economic and trade purposes, but they must notify MECO in Manila at least five days in advance, and submit reports to MECO and the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs after the meeting.
The memorandum circular still prohibits government officials or departments from signing agreements, memorandums, or exchanging documents with Taiwan without prior approval from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, and if necessary, authorization from the Presidential Palace.
(Translated and rewritten from Central News Agency)