 Mr. Chairman, Secretary-General and the officers of the International Telecommunication Union, your excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good day. It is an honor to participate in the Planet Potentiary Conference 2018. On behalf of the Republic of the Philippines and our delegation, I extend my appreciation to our gracious hosts, the government of the United Arab Emirates, for providing these excellent facilities here in the beautiful city of Dubai. We recognize also the excellent work of ITU in making this conference possible. The Philippine government recognizes the vital role of ICT in nation-building and declares its policy to promote an environment for the development of infrastructures that would ensure the availability of reliable, secure, internet access suitable to the needs and aspirations of our nation, as such, laws were enacted to guarantee the ecosystem is ready for emerging growth of ICT sector, such as the free Wi-Fi law, where free internet access to public places is mandated, and the ease of doing business, where ICT is being used as a tool to promote transparency, accountability, and efficiency in government services. We are building the landscape of ICT economy by addressing emerging and critical issues, such as expansion and exclusivity of economic opportunities, the need for seamless online government services, safe and secure cyberspace through a national cybersecurity plan 2022, and disaster resilient communities. In year 2020, Filipinos would be connected to faster and more affordable internet service, giving the nation more dynamic landscape for competition in the ICT market. To achieve all of this, the Philippines intend to implement government infrastructure development projects, such as the establishment of two cable-landing stations, the utilization of 6,200 kilometer long dark fiber for the national government backbone, and partnership with rural electric cooperatives for more effective countryside, last mile connectivity to end users. Ladies and gentlemen, to end, allow me to bring your attention to the time I still have in my presentation. This is one reason why you should vote Philippines in the ITU council, because the Philippines always follows rules and regulations of ITU. Thank you very much.