MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. cancels his trip to COP28, focusing on the seafarers who are held in captivity by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
“In light of important developments in the hostage situation involving 17 Filipino seafarers in the Red Sea, I have made the decision not to attend COP28 in Dubai tomorrow,” the president said in a post on X (Twitter).
“Today, I will be convening a meeting to facilitate the dispatch of a high-level delegation to Tehran, Iran, with the aim of providing necessary assistance to our seafarers,” he said.
“I have entrusted DENR Secretary Ma. Antonio Yulo-Loyzaga to lead the COP28 delegation and articulate the country’s statement on my behalf,” he added.
In light of important developments in the hostage situation involving 17 Filipino seafarers in the Red Sea, I have made the decision not to attend COP28 in Dubai tomorrow.
— Bongbong Marcos (@bongbongmarcos) November 30, 2023
Today, I will be convening a meeting to facilitate the dispatch of a high-level delegation to Tehran,…
On Wednesday, a day before COP28, Marcos awarded climate adaptation funds to six local government units. In his speech, the chief executive said he will use COP28 as a platform to call on nations to honor their climate commitments, particularly in financing.
Although climate change has been a focused theme in his speeches, groups against the president have criticized him for not changing his words into useful actions.
COP28 Conference in Dubai, will tackle the progress of countries towards achieving the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. It will be assessed in a process called global stocktake.
Debates over the operationalization of the loss and damage fund, which will provide compensation to climate-vulnerable countries that are least responsible for the warming of the planet, will also take center stage in the negotiations.
Marcos said that he will call a meeting on Thursday to facilitate the dispatch of a high-level delegation to Tehran in Iran to provide assistance to the seafarers who are held in captivity by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
Also Read: 17 Pinoy seafarers taken hostage by Houthi rebels
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