GMA: PBBM made ‘very good impression’

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made a good impression at the recently-concluded Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said on Saturday.

"He certainly made a very good impression on the leaders of the very important economies. And not only the very important economies, also on the great economic thinkers of the world,” Arroyo said in a statement.

For her part, Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople described the President’s first outing in APEC as “highly successful” that will obviously benefit the country.

The President has developed a good rapport with other economic leaders he met, Ople said.

“You can see that both sides are excited about engagements, especially when he met with the Crown Prince, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman or MBS of Saudi Arabia,” Ople said.

“You can see that when they held a meeting, they looked like they were friends that met each other after a very long time. They’re both forward-looking, visionary, and proud of Filipinos. It looks like that is their common ground,” she added.

During Marcos’ bilateral meeting with the MBS, the Saudi government announced compensation for the unpaid wages of around 10,000 Filipinos who worked for Saudi Arabian construction firms that went bankrupt a few years ago.