The grand ballroom of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel buzzed with 250 close friends of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung to bid farewell to outgoing country representative of 6 ½ years Klaus Preschle. Mr. Preschle thanked all the partners and people he had worked with for the past 6.6 years during his term as the country representative of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung to the Philippines.
Among them former President Fidel V. Ramos, who aside from thanking his dear friend Klaus Preschle, took the opportunity to give presidential aspirant National Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro unsolicited advice to “follow the German style of uniting a divided government.” He continued to share with co-guest Teodoro how Christian Democrat Union leader current Chancellor Angela Merkel constructed a new government after winning the 2005 elections. “They created a government of national unity putting the ruling coalition and loyal opposition together and now they have become the number three economy in the world, bar none,” expressed Ramos. He cited that during that particular election, both winning and losing parties aligned to create a new government. “I hope our present leaders, the ones we elected to lead us, as well as all of the presidential candidates…see our respective roles in nation-building,” said he.
The dinner, part of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Partner Workshop, held September 22 was also the welcome for incoming country representative Dr. Peter Köppinger.
Other close friends at the dinner included: German Ambassador Christian Ludwig Weber-Lortsch, Cambodian Ambassador In May, Singapore Ambassador A. Selverajah, Swiss Ambassador Peter Sutter, Cabinet Secretaries: Gilbert Teodoro of Department of National Defense; Gabriel Claudio Chief Presidential Political Adviser; Camilo Sabio of Presidential Commission on Good Government, Senators Edgardo Angara and Juan Miguel Zubiri, Director General Lilia De Lima of PEZA, Congressmen Juan Edgardo Angara, Ariel Hernandez, Teodoro Locsin, Milagros Magsaysay, Victor Ortega and Isacio Pelaez, Mayor Ma. Lourdes Fernando of Marikina City, General Rodolfo Garcia, former Senator Santanina Rasul, representatives for 2 embassies, 2 undersecretaries and high ranking official from civil society among them: Asian Institute of Management President Edilberto de Jesus, Institute for Electoral and Political Reform Executive Director Ramon Casiple, Dean Antonio La Viña of the Ateneo School of Government and many more.