In a Nov. 2 interview with Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA), Philippine Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan proposed Taiwanese investment to employ Filipinos returning from semiconductor jobs in Taiwan, linking the idea to closer bilateral ties.
His proposal would direct Taiwanese investment toward jobs for Filipinos who acquired semiconductor skills in Taiwan. Pangilinan said those workers return to the Philippines when their contracts end. CNA interviewed him in Bangkok during the 65th Liberal International Congress.
Pangilinan also identified agriculture, food security, democratic governance and human rights as areas for cooperation. An Oct. 16 livestock research agreement between the two sides’ representative offices provides another point of contact, with staff visits and technical exchanges planned.
Geography also shapes Pangilinan’s case for closer ties. “What affects Taiwan will affect the Philippines and vice versa,” he told CNA, arguing that developments affecting one neighbor have consequences for the other.
His appeal comes amid a dispute over remarks by Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan. Jing paired a statement that China would not choose force against the Philippines with an assertion that it could win easily if it did. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the remarks sounded like a threat. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs called them a “thinly veiled threat of the use of force”; China’s embassy rejected that interpretation.
Pangilinan also invoked the 2016 South China Sea arbitration award. The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) said the tribunal assessed maritime rights and alleged breaches of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. It did not decide who held sovereignty over disputed territory or draw a maritime boundary.
Pangilinan said the Philippine Senate would take up a resolution tied to a reciprocal agreement with Taiwan to avoid double taxation after the chamber reconvenes. He told CNA he hoped the effort would advance by year-end.
