This is the year, till the first half of 2026, that the Philippines will seal its votes to be able to get a seat at the UN Security Council.
It was in September 2022 when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., during his debut speech at the UN General Assembly, announced the country’s bid to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. He cited the country’s experiences in building peace both domestically — in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao—and in multilateral and bilateral settings as strong points in our favor.
Two years later, he would make the same pitch before an international trade summit in Manila. The timing was ripe as this was the lead-up to the 2024 UN General Assembly where Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo campaigned for support. The target period for the non-permanent seat is 2027-2028, for which the voting will take place next year.
Over the weekend, at the vin d’honneur reception, Marcos asked the diplomats to convey to their governments the Philippines’ request for support, adding that this same support will be given “when the time comes when we are indeed sitting as a member of the Security Council.”
If the Philippines makes it, this will not be the first time that it will have a seat in the Security Council. The Philippines has been a non-permanent member of the Security Council four times in the past: 1957, 1963, from 1980 to 1981, and from 2004 to 2005.
The Security Council is important because it is the premier global body for keeping peace. But it faces serious challenges as we’ve seen in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the eruption of war in the Middle East.
From NAM to G7
Manalo’s dizzying number of overseas trips in 2024, as well as the numerous visits of his counterparts from various parts of the world to Manila, would be an indicator of the Philippines’ frenzied campaign. Surely, all these meetings were not solely focused on gaining votes — but that’s the undertone.
In his 2024 year-end speech before the diplomatic corps, Manalo reported that as of October last year, he has had 104 bilateral meetings with his counterparts from countries in the Indo-Pacific, Middle East, the Americas, Europe and Africa. These included first-time visits by a Philippine foreign minister to Greece and Cyprus and 20 bilateral meetings with African countries during the Non-Aligned Summit in Kampala, Uganda.
Yes, the Philippines is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, a club of developing countries. It was also the first time Manalo visited the African continent.
In Manila, Manalo welcomed Brazil’s foreign minister — the first to visit the Philippines in nearly 80 years, since diplomatic relations began. Similarly, the Lithuania’s foreign minister‘s visit was the first in 33 years, and the Dutch foreign minister, who came in October 2023, was the first in more than 30 years. For her part, the German foreign minister’s visit was the first in more than a decade. These firsts were just four of his 14 counterparts who made the trip to Manila.
Apart from being a historic visit, what was significant about the Brazilian foreign minister’s trip was that he got the Philippines’ backing for its bid for permanent membership in the UN Security Council and to push for reforms. “Secretary Manalo and Minister [Mauro] Vieira expressed their support for a comprehensive reform of the United Nations, including the Security Council…consisting of the reform of its working methods, as well as the expansion of both permanent and non-permanent members…to make it more representative, legitimate and effective, and to increase the representation of developing countries,” a joint communique issued after the August 2024 meeting said.
A little-noticed but important move of the Philippines, together with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Western Pacific Regional Office, was the formation of the Philippines-Pacific Initiative last November, with the first conference held in Manila. It focuses on enhancing health, food security and disaster preparedness. The Philippines contributed US$750,000 to WHO to fund programs to strengthen public health systems in about 15 island countries in the Pacific.
Another milestone that received little attention was Manalo’s address to his G7 counterparts last November, the first time the Philippines was invited to participate in a G7 meeting. It was Italy, which was last year’s G7 president, that hosted the conference which included foreign ministers from India, Indonesia and South Korea. Manalo spoke on security issues in the Indo-Pacific and the Philippines’ journey in upholding international law in the South China Sea.
Tight competition?
The Asia-Pacific region is only given two seats in the Council’s 10 non-permanent members. Africa has three seats; Eastern Europe, one; Latin America and the Caribbean, two; and Western Europe, two.
The Philippines should muster at least two-thirds of votes in the UN General Assembly, equivalent to 129 out of the 193-member body. If our country gets in, the Philippines has a definite chance of becoming president of the Security Council as this rotates monthly, giving the ten non-permanent members some influence on the agenda.
The Council’s five permanent members are all nuclear powers and hold tremendous clout: China, France, Russia, Britain and the US. They can veto any resolution or decision. There have been criticisms that the five permanent members do not represent many regions in the world.
2025 is another year for the Philippines to spread its diplomatic wings — and land in the Security Council.
Let me know what you think. You can email me at marites.vitug@rappler.com.
Till next newsletter!