Matapos ang ‘kill kill kill’ Duterte regime <br> PH CANADA ‘FRIENDSHIP’ NAIS BUHAYIN NI TRUDEAU

ni ROSE NOVENARIO

NANINIWALA si Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau na maraming oportunidad ang pagsasamahan ng Canada at Filipinas upang sumigla ang relasyon na nakaangkla sa ekonomiya, adbokasiya sa women’s rights, proteksiyon sa karapatang pantao, at paglaban sa ‘climate change.’

Inihayag ito ni Trudeau sa kanilang bilateral meeting ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., matapos ang closing ceremony ng 40^th and 41^st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits sa Pnohm Pen, Cambodia kahapon.

“I’m looking forward to doing just that,” ani Trudeau kay FM Jr.

“We have some very strong Philippine Canadian members of parliament and members of my team who are very happy that we’re able to launch a new area in our friendship and our partnership and I’m very much looking forward to it,” dagdag niya.

Sa pinaigting na “people-to-people ties” ay mas maraming magagawa nang magkatuwang ang Filipinas at Canada para sa rehiyon.

Para kay FM Jr., ang presensiya ng mga Pinoy sa Canada ay nagbibigay ng matibay na pundasyon para sa relasyon ng dalawang bansa.

“They all seem to have become part of the workforce, become part of society. They have found their place and they had been given that place by the Canadians, and for that, they are grateful, and we are grateful. And I think it serves as a very good foundation for whatever else that we feel that we can do together,” sabi ni FM Jr.

Matatandaang ‘tinabla’ si Trudeau ng administrasyong Duterte matapos deretsahan niyang sabihin kay Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa kanilang bilateral meeting sa ASEAN East Asia Summit noong Nobyembre 2017 na nababahala ang Canada sa isyu ng human rights at extrajudicial killings sa Filipinas.

“As I mentioned to President Duterte, we are concerned with human rights, the extrajudicial killings. I impressed upon him the need to respect the rule of law and, as always, offered Canada’s support and help as a friend to help move forward on what is a real challenge,” aniya.

“This is the way we engage with the world, and this is the way we always will,” dagdag niya.

Nainsulto si Duterte nang buksan sa kanya ni Trudeau ang paksa at mula noo’y nagkaroon na siya ng disgusto sa Canadian prime minister.

“I said I will not explain. It is a personal and official insult,” sabi ni Duterte.