GERARD HO

ambassador of singapore

“Legendary!” This is how His Excellency Gerard Ho defines Filipino hospitality. “I have never felt so welcome in any country that I have been posted before,” he says. He is still awed by how helpful everyone has been. “People whom you just met will go out of their way to help you, even at great inconvenience to themselves,” he adds. He admits to doing a bit of an adjustment when he started to live here just early in the year. “There is always an initial period of adjustment for Singaporeans when we move to live in another country. We get used to things working in a certain way and subconsciously expect the same elsewhere. But we are also pragmatic and practical, so we learn to fit in eventually,” the ambassador says. Manila is not a strange city to him, having visited many times, especially during the Philippines’ chairmanship of ASEAN in 2017. Those visits have formed some impressions in his mind. For one, he says, “The sheer talent of your people!” This, unfortunately, has led to another conclusion: “Going to karaoke with Filipinos is a very intimidating experience!” He is practically still at the stage of settling down; there are many more places to visit, things to learn, and experiences to savour. The young diplomat is raring to do all these. After all, he wants to be remembered as someone who “reinforced the positive traits Filipinos associate Singapore with, and reduced any negative stereotypes that you hold. As a Singapore diplomat, I would like the Philippines to always see us as a steadfast and reliable friend,” he says.