Ambassador Enrique A. Manalo and Under-Secretary General Vladimir Voronkov further enhance robust cooperation between the Philippines and the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism.

 

14 April 2021, New York – Ambassador Enrique A. Manalo conferred with the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) Under-Secretary-General Vladimir Voronkov to further enhance current and new areas of cooperation between the Philippines and UNOCT.

Ambassador Manalo and the UN counter terrorism head discussed how progress in the national implementation of UN Countering Terrorist Travel Programme and the Aviation Security Programme Initiative could help the Philippines combat terrorism.

Under-Secretary General Voronkov thanked Ambassador Manalo for the Philippines’ support for UNOCT activities and for the ‘exemplary’ cooperation with the United Nations on counterterrorism. He also recalled his personal friendship and collaboration with Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr.

Ambassador Manalo said that the Philippines “appreciates your capacity building activities (with Member States) to counter terrorism and violent extremism,” noting the progress in the implementation of the capacity building flagship program on countering terrorist travel despite the constraints posed by the Covid19 pandemic.

“The Philippines welcomes further dialogue with the United Nations Office of Counter Terrorism and is ready to provide meaningful support to advance its mandate and promote objectives that we share,” Ambassador Manalo added.

The Philippines recently adopted the Roadmap for the implementation of the UN Countering Terrorist Travel Programme. The programme aims to enhance detection capabilities against terrorists and serious criminals using travel information, information exchange, and international databases.

The UNOCT was established in 2017 with the consensus of the UN General Assembly as part of the reform of the UN’s counter-terrorism architecture. Under-Secretary General Voronkov is its first head.  END