THE UNKNOWN KNIGHT

Another developments and great news all the way from Europe through our compatriot:

By Jose Alejandrino.
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October 19, 2017 - Meeting with the President of the province of Toledo, Alvaro Gutierrez Prieto (the tall gentleman in the group pictures), and the Councillor and spokesman of the Socialist Party of Spain, Felix Martin San Pablo. Despite his very heavy schedule, Alvaro gave me an hour of his valuable time when he learned I was in Spain. Also to the right in the group picture by the stairway with the emblem of Toledo is Felipe Martinez Jordi, a well-known Spanish businessman.

Toledo is the capital of Castilla-La Mancha, the second biggest autonomous region in area after Andalucia. It is composed of 460 towns. Historically, it is the center of three cultures: Christian, Jewish, and Islamic. The Arabs were in Toledo during 450 years.

My great-great-grandmother, Maria Robledo, is from Toledo, Spain.

Out of the 17 autonomous regions of Spain, the Socialist Party controls 8 of them.

In my talks with Alvaro, we discussed a twin-city (hermandad) tieup between Toledo and Davao which will be the first of its kind between Spain and the Philippines. The tieup will focus on cultural and commercial exchanges, students and tourist exchanges, and information exchange. Alvaro said he is in favor of the tieup and of meeting Davao mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. I also gave him a full explanation of what President Duterte's vision is for the Philippines and rectified the distortions in the Spanish and foreign press about his wars on corruption, illegal drugs, and terrorism.

Our economy, I said, was doing well judging by the growth rates of the last quarters. His popularity ratings in opinion polls are still high.

I also explained Duterte's independent foreign policy and the trade and investment benefits of it. I expressed the hope that the Philippines will have more openings to Latin America by closer ties with Spain and Portugal. The Philippines, I said, is geographically part of Asia but historically part of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America.

Source: FB/Rakhan Alex