European Commission prexy expected in Manila July 31-Aug. 1

By Rey E. Requejo and Charles Dantes

THE president of the European Commission which is part of the European Union’s (EU) executive arm, is expected to visit the Philippines next week as the regional bloc seeks to promote its strate- gic ties with countries in the Indo-Pacific.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen will be in Manila from July 31 to August 1 upon the invitation of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who she met during the EU-ASEAN Commemorative Summit last December in Brussels.

Von der Leyen becomes the first Eu- ropean Commission president to make an official visit to the Philippines since Manila established diplomatic relations with the 27-member EU.

The communication team of the EU in the Philippines made the announcement, adding that her visit “aims to give a new impetus to the EU-Philippines bilateral relations and engage in discussions on matters of mutual interest,” such as trade, green and digital transition and security. they will not be brought to NBP,” Remulla said.

Von der Leyen will meet Marcos during her trip to Manila to discuss trade, investment and Global Gateway cooperation, among other issues.

Remulla previously bared that there could be mass graves inside the NBP.

“The culture that the witnesses told us seems to indicate this has been going on for a long time. There are gangs (in the NBP) with a proclivity to bury individuals in the septic tank,” he said.

International criminal justice expert and consultant Dr. Raymund Narag said there was a transmission of culture from one PDL to the next.

“There is a culture that all PDLs and all personnel should know, and there are rules of the game that you need to follow in order to survive in Bilibid,” Narag said.