MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte stressed on the need to strengthen the Halal industries to bring in more tourists.

Halal means food and products permitted by the laws of Islam.

Malaysian Ambassador Abdul Malik Melvin Castelino and Brunei Darussalam Ambassador Megawati Manan, in separate courtesy calls on Thursday, said boosting the halal industries in the Philippines will make the country more friendly for Muslim communities.

The Vice President said she agreed to establishing programs aimed at strengthening the halal to better serve muslims and foreign tourists.

“With regard to the Halal industry, yes, I agree with you. When I was mayor in Davao City, one of our bigger projects was about tourism. And we were missing out a segment of tourists because there’s much [of them who asked] how strong is the halal industry,” she told Ambassador Megawati.

“Admittedly, we did not have before so we created the Davao City Halal Council to discuss how we can strengthen the halal industry in Davao City,” she added.

The Vice President also shared that before her term as mayor ended, the city government was able to establish a halal slaughterhouse.

Ambassador Malik, on the other hand, told the Vice President that the potentials of halal industries, including cosmetics, may be explored.

The envoys also presented interests in nurturing respective areas of cooperations in the field of education, tourism development, trade and industry, and in deepening the bilateral relations between countries.

The Vice President, who is also Secretary of Education and the current president of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), shared to Ambassadors Malik and Megawati her proposed visits to SEAMEO member countries during her Council Presidency. OVP MEDIA