Vice Presidential Pool Reports of November 21, 2022

VP travel pool report #1 - RON

Good morning from Manila, where the local time is 11:45 a.m. The pool has been swept and is waiting in the motorcade at the RON to leave soon for the Aguada House where Harris will meet with the Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio.

The daily guidance from the White House:

At 12:00PM PHT, the Vice President will meet with Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio of the Philippines. This meeting at Aguada House will have a pool spray at the top.

At 1:10PM PHT, the Vice President will hold a bilateral meeting with President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. of the Philippines to reaffirm and strengthen the U.S.-Philippines Alliance and underscore the breadth of our cooperation as friends, partners, and allies. This qmeeting at Malacañang Palace will have an expanded pool spray at the top.

At 4:35PM PHT , the Vice President will participate in a moderated conversation with young women on empowering women and girls. This conversation at Sofitel Manila will be open press and live-streamed on whitehouse.gov/live.

VP travel pool report - rolling

We are rolling at 11:58 a.m.

VP travel pool report #3 - arrival

We arrived at the Aguada House at 12:10 p.m.

(The last pool report was mistakenly not numbered but it was #2.)

VP travel pool report #4 - meeting

The pool was brought into a room where Harris and Duterte-Carpio were seated, but your pooler could not see much because local press was brought in before us and given more space at the front of the staging area than the pool. A conversation about local cuisine was already underway between the two when press was ushered in, so we did not hear the the start of the discussion. Duterte-Carpio told Harris that she had heard that she enjoyed to cook, and Harris responded that her husband loved to eat so it was a great marriage. Duterte-Carpio said she heard Harris would visit Palawan and asked if she would have time to see the beaches. Harris said she would not but added "I'm really looking forward to that" of her Palawan visit. Press was then told to leave the room. Your pooler took an Otter but the quality was low.

Link: https://otter.ai/u/aLF1EmXMOH_QLPRuOngC8peZICo

VP travel pool report #5 -palace

The Vice President arrived at the Malacañang Palace at 12:46 p.m. and stepped out of her SUV. She walked up a red carpet, flanked by the Philippine Military Honors who wore green, yellow and white uniforms. The pool was positioned by the door where she walked in and then ushered in after her.

VP travel pool report #6 - Harris/Marcos

The pool was brought into a palace room decorated by two Christmas trees before the Vice President walked in. They then shook hands and President Marcos asked if she had visited before. She said she had not but the Second Gentleman had, referring to the president's inauguration. They then walked into the room where they would hold the bilat together. Press was then ushered in, as the leaders greeted those in attendance listed below. Both gave their remarks, starting with President Marcos. He told her visit showed their strong relationship. "I do not see a future for the Philippines that does not include the United States. That really does come from the very long relationship." Harris also said the two nations have a "long and enduring" relationship, mentioning the "thriving Filipino-American community" in California. She joked that the Philippines celebrates Christmas three months a year and he responded that they celebrate the holiday "like we invented it." "Certainly, we own it now," he said. Harris called their relationship "multi-faceted" she said, referring to how the nations share a "mutual commitment to the economic prosperity of the region and the respective nations," as well as a "mutual concern about the climate crisis" and mutual defense agreement. "We stand with you in defense of you of international rules and norms as it relates to the South China Sea. An armed attack on the Philippines Armed Forces, public vessels or aircraft would invoke U.S. mutual defense," she said. She concluded her remarks by saying that the relationship between the countries grows stronger under his leadership. Press was then told to leave, and held outside until the motorcade departed. We are now rolling to the Sofitel Manila.

Thanks to Bloomberg's Jenny Leonard for help with this report. Your pooler's Otter was not clear (linking here: https://otter.ai/u/QDred8uEdGuh3mYzEoBvRZMwjSM) so AFP's Allison Jackson kindly shared hers: https://otter.ai/u/fPFHI5XmzhOHmAtKYo3Y-9pfLgA

From the White House:

On Background from a White House Official

The Vice President was greeted by Adelio Angelito Cruz, Chief of Presidential Protocol when entering Malacañang Palace.

The Vice President was joined by a delegation for the bilateral meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines. Please see below:

- T.H. Philip Gordon, Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President
- T.H. Lorraine Voles, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the Vice President
- T.H. MaryKay Carlson, United States Ambassador to The Philippines
- T.H. Rebecca Lissner, Special Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor to the Vice President
- T.H. Edgard Kagan, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania, National Security Council
- Mr. Dean Lieberman, Special Advisor to the Vice President
- Mr. David Redlinger, Special Advisor to the Vice President for East Asia and Oceania
- Ms. Henrietta Levin, Director for Southeast Asia, National Security Council
- Ms. Melissa Brown, Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department of State
- Ms. Heather Variava, Deputy Chief of Mission

VP travel pool report #7 - women

The pool was brought into a conference room in Sofitel Manila where an audience is waiting for Harris for a moderated conversation on empowering women and girls. The event will be live-streamed at https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/.

VP travel pool report #8 - discussion

In a discussion moderated by Ambassador Carlson, Harris told the audience of young women she met backstage with leading Filipino human rights activists. She talked about the universality of human rights, and then she took questions about the role women have in business and leadership. The conversation lasted about 25 minutes. The pool is not expecting any more events today.

VP travel pool report #9 - background

On background from a White House Official

Vice President Harris is joined by Ambassador MaryKay Carlson, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines in a moderated conversation with young women on empowering women and girls.

Background on the Vice President's Leadership on Global Women's Issues

Attributed to a White House Official:

· The Vice President is using her global leadership position to advance the standing and status of women around the world.

· When she travels abroad and throughout her diplomatic and foreign policy engagements, the Vice President deliberately and consistently advances gender policy issues.

· When traveling overseas, the Vice President makes an effort to meet with and lift up the voices of women and girls. She wants to engage directly with them as it informs the work she is doing on the world stage.

· We know that when the Vice President travels overseas, she is welcomed and celebrated by women and girls as an inspiring and pioneering role-model and the Vice President takes this role and responsibility seriously.

· There are four key areas of policy focus for the Vice President regarding global women's issues: (1) Economic Opportunity (2) Safety and Security (3) Political and Civic Participation and Legal Equality and (4) Climate

o Economic Opportunity: The Vice President is working to provide economic opportunities for women around the world, in recognition of the fact that when you lift up women economically, you lift up their children, their families, their communities—and entire economies.

o Safety and Security: The Vice President is working to advance the safety and security of women around the world. This includes: gender-based violence, trafficking in persons, online harassment and abuse, and women's involvement in peace and security processes—including efforts to combat conflict-related sexual violence.

o Political and Civic Participation and Legal Equality: The Vice President is working to support and empower female "change-makers," or civil society leaders and activists who are fighting for the full participation of women and girls and for gender equality in their countries. She is using her leadership position to publicly and privately advocate for basic human rights and legal rights of women and girls.

o Climate: Throughout all of her work on global women's issues, the Vice President takes into account the climate crisis, and how the existential crisis of our time affects women.

· Her diplomatic work on gender issues builds on her work throughout her career fighting for women and girls and complements her domestic efforts on policy issues related to women and girls.

KEY PREVIOUS FOREIGN POLICY REMARKS/ENGAGEMENTS

September 29, 2022: Meeting with groundbreaking Korean women, in Seoul, Republic of Korea (Readout [whitehouse.gov],Remarks [whitehouse.gov])

June 7, 2022: Roundtable with women business executives, entrepreneurs, and civil society leaders to discuss women's economic empowerment in northern Central America, in Los Angeles, California (Readout [whitehouse.gov])

June 7, 2022: Remarks to launch the "In Her Hands Initiative for women in northern Central America and to announce other related U.S. government initiatives, in Los Angeles, California (Remarks [whitehouse.gov], Fact Sheet [whitehouse.gov])

January 25, 2022: Remarks at the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (Remarks [whitehouse.gov])

July 29, 2022: Launch of Root Causes Strategy, with pillar on combating sexual, gender-based and domestic violence (Fact Sheet [whitehouse.gov])

June 30, 2021: Remarks at Generation Equality Forum (Remarks [whitehouse.gov])

June 8, 2021: Meeting with women entrepreneurs in Mexico City, Mexico (Remarks [whitehouse.gov])

June 7, 2021: Meeting with community leaders in Guatemala City, Guatemala (Remarks [whitehouse.gov])

April 27, 2021: Virtual roundtable with community leaders from Guatemala (Remarks [whitehouse.gov])