Manila, September 4 (AseanAll) — The Philippines reaffirmed its Pacific affinity and kinship while highlighting closer collaboration with fellow Pacific nations during the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting (55PIFLM) held in Koror, Palau, from 30 August to 4 September 2026.
Aligning with the forum’s theme of “Building Economies: Life. Action. Unity,” the Philippine delegation underscored the shared challenges of archipelagic states, such as climate change and a changing development financing landscape, and presented concrete pathways for deeper regional integration through the Philippine-Pacific Initiative, launched by Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in Manila in 2024. The Philippine delegation further underlined the mutual commitment to strong maritime governance in adherence to international law, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Marcos designated Undersecretary Leo M. Herrera-Lim of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) as Special Envoy to the Forum, which gathers the leaders of 18 Pacific nations, namely Australia, Cook Islands, Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Naoero, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, as well as the PIF Secretariat. The Forum likewise facilitates the Pacific Islands nations’ interface with PIF Dialogue Partners, including the Philippines.
In his remarks during Leaders Dialogue with Forum Dialogue Partners (FDPs), Special Envoy and Undersecretary Herrera-Lim built upon the mutual affinity between the Philippines and Pacific Island nations as he reiterated that the core of the Philippines’ engagement with the Pacific centers on key areas of resilience under the aforementioned Philippines-Pacific initiative, namely: Health, Food Security, Capacity Building and Human Capital Development, Disaster Preparedness and Climate Action, Environment, as well as energy, maritime and ocean governance space. He stressed that the Pacific Initiative, as a cooperation framework, delivers tangible programs and builds regional resilience through sustained engagement and exchanges between the Philippines and the Pacific.
“As an archipelagic state, the Philippines shares the defining challenges of the Blue Pacific—from geographic isolation, climate change, infrastructure gaps, development financing landscape shift, and rural transformation. These realities demand that we rethink how we mobilize partnerships to sustain development gains and build unbreakable resilience into our communities. The Philippines is fully committed to deepening these partnerships. In 2024, we launched the Philippines-Pacific Initiative, through which we offer tangible cooperation across key areas of resilience,” said the Special Envoy.
The Philippines expressed readiness to broaden its technical and institutional support in several key sectors, including healthcare, education and creative economy, and resource management covering fisheries, agriculture, and water sanitation, among others.
Likewise, recognizing the Philippines’ ‘“convergence with Pacific Island States on the need to address issues in the maritime and ocean governance space,” the Special Envoy articulated the Philippines keen interest to work closely on critical maritime issues, particularly marine environmental protection, sea-level rise response, the climate-ocean nexus, as well as the promotion and adherence to international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
At the sidelines, the Special Envoy conducted several bilateral meetings, including with PIF Secretary General Baron Waqa. They discussed the Philippines’ partnership with the region and ways to enhance PIF’s engagements with ASEAN.
The Philippines’ participation in the 55PIFLM reflects its long-term commitment to the Pacific, further expanded by its admission as a dialogue partner of the Forum since 1999. The Philippines maintains four resident Embassies in the Pacific in Port Moresby, Suva, Canberra and Wellington. The Philippine Embassy in Tokyo has concurrent jurisdiction over Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Joining Special Envoy and Undersecretary Herrera-Lim were the Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs (ASPAC) Marshall Louis M. Alferez and the Philippine Ambassador to Fiji Noel M. Novicio, and ASPAC Acting Director Allen Carillo.
