28th Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum, Manila, Philippines, February 3-4, 2025

REGISTRATION Light Breakfast (9:30 – 10:00 am)

OPENING AND KEYNOTE REMARKS (10:00 – 11:00 am)

• Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez - Speaker, House of Representatives
• Robert Pittenger - Chairperson, Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum
• Bill Cassidy - U.S. Senate
• Matt Pottinger - Former Deputy National Security Advisor for President Trump

RULES-BASED INTERNATIONAL ORDER IN THE INDO-PACIFIC: VIEWS FROM THE REGION (11:00 - 11:40am)

• Maria Rachel J. Arenas - Chairperson, Committee on Foreign Affairs
• Siti Rozaimeriyanty Dato Haji Abdul Rahman - Secretary General, ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA)

US-CHINA STRATEGIC COMPETITION: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE INDO-PACIFIC (11:40am - 12:35 pm)

• Carl Delfeld - Blackthread LLC / Hay Seward Economic Security Council
• Cristian Bacanu - Member of Parliament, Romania
• John Strand - CEO of Strand Consult, Denmark

LUNCH BREAK WITH KEYNOTE REMARKS

• Francis H. Jardeleza - former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines and former Solicitor General of the Philippines

SOUTH CHINA SEA: THE STATE OF PLAY (1:30 - 2:25 pm)

• Neptali “Boyet” M. Gonzales II - Chairperson, Committee on West Philippine Sea
• Emigdio P. Tanjuatco III - Vice-Chairperson, Committee on Foreign Affairs
• Nestor C. Herico - Deputy Director-General, National Security Council

SHINING A LIGHT: COUNTERING ILLEGAL, COERCIVE, AGGRESSIVE, AND DECEPTIVE ACTIONS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA (2:25 - 3:35 pm)

• Eric Swalwell - U.S. House of Representatives
• RADM Rommel Jude G. Ong - Ateneo School of Government
• Ronnie Gil L. Gavan - Commandant, Philippine Coast Guard
• Jay L. Batongbacal - Professor, College of Law, University of the Philippines

COUNTERING FOREIGN INTERFERENCE AND ECONOMIC COERCION: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE INDO-PACIFIC (3:35 – 3:50 pm

• Robert “Ace” S. Barbers - Chairperson, Committee on Dangerous Drug

SAFE, ORDERLY, AND REGULAR MIGRATION: PROTECTING MIGRANT WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES / SECURITY CHALLENGES TO MIGRATION (3:50 – 4:05 pm

• Hans Leo J. Cacdac - Secretary, Department of Migrant Workers

THE MATTER OF TAIWAN: EXPLORING A LONG-STANDING FLASH POINT OF THE INDO-PACIFIC (4:05 -5:00 pm)

• Eric Schmitt - U.S. Senate
• Renato de Castro - Professor, International Studies Department of the De La Salle University
• Neil Simon S. Silva - Legal Officer, UP Law Center Institute of Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, College of Law, UP Diliman

OPEN FLOOR

• Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza - Deputy Speaker

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF DELEGATES AT THE PLENARY HALL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (5:30 – 6:00 pm)

DINNER RECEPTION (6:00 – 8:00 pm)

REGISTRATION Light Breakfast (8:00 – 8:30 am)

PRAYER BREAKFAST (8:30 – 9:00 am)

• Bienvenido M. Abante Jr. - Chairperson, Committee on Human Rights
• Lucas Rojas - Soloist

KEYNOTE REMARKS (9:00 -9:15 am)

• Maria Cristina Aldeguer-Roque - Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry

REIMAGINING TRADE TODAY: INDO-PACIFIC PRIORITIES / TRUMP 2.0: U.S. TRADE POLICY (9:15 - 10:10 am)

• Brent Sadler - Heritage Senior Research Fellow, Naval Warfare and Advanced Technology, Allison Center for National Security
• Lucian Pugliaresi - President, Energy Policy Research Foundation, Inc. (EPRINC)
• Kaush Arha - President of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Forum Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub and Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue

THE GEOPOLITICAL IMPACT OF DIGITAL CURRENCIES (10:10 – 10:50 am)

• Joey Sarte Salceda - Chairperson, Committee on Ways and Means
• Francisco G. Dakila, Jr. - Deputy Governor, Monetary and Economics Sector Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

SEMI-CONDUCTORS AND CRITICAL MINERALS: SECURING AND SUSTAINING GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS (10:50 -11:30 am)

• Sohan Dasgupta - Partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
• Dave McMurtry - CEO, The McMurtry Group, Investor and Advisor in the Lithium Ion Battery Supply Chain Industry

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: IMPLICATIONS AND CHALLENGES [FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES] (11:30 am – 12:25 pm)

• Jamil Jaffer - Founder and Executive Director of the National Security Institute at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University Venture Partner at Paladin Capital Group
• Prospero C. Naval, Jr. - Director, Artificial Intelligence Program, UP College of Engineering
• Eduardo Araral - Associate Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy National University of Singapore

LUNCH BREAK (12:25 – 1:25 pm

SPAGHETTI BOWL OF MARINE UNDERSEA CABLES: PROTECTING CONNECTIVITY AND COMMUNICATIONS (1:25 – 1:40 pm)

• Lee Jaehyon - Principal Fellow, Center for Regional Studies The Asan Institute for Policy Studies

THE NEED FOR NAVAL STATECRAFT TO WIN THE NEW COLD WAR (1:40 –1:55 pm)

• Brent Sadler - Heritage Senior Research Fellow, Naval Warfare and Advanced Technology, Allison Center for National Security

CYBERSECURITY: WORKING WITH AND PROTECTING EACH OTHER (1:55 - 2:50 pm)

• Ivan John E. Uy - Secretary, Department of Information and Communication Technology
• Allan S. Cabanlong - Director, Global Forum on Cyber Expertise Southeast Asia Hub and CPED Fellow UP National College of Public Administration and Governance
• Mark Bryan Manantan - Director of Cybersecurity and Critical Technologies Pacific Forum

COUNTERING FOREIGN INTERFERENCE AND ECONOMIC COERCION: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE INDO-PACIFIC (2:50 – 3:30 pm)

• Jules Gerard V. Arceo - MA Faculty, Department of International Studies Institute of Arts and Sciences, Far Eastern University
• Erik Bethel - Distinguished Fellow, Chamber of Digital Commerce former U.S. Representative to the World Bank

CHANGING SECURITY, CHANGING POLICY TOOLS: MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF CHINESE AUTHORITARIAN MERCANTILISM (3:30 – 3:45 pm)

• Kaush Arha - President of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Forum Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub and Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue

THE GEOPOLITICAL IMPACT OF DIGITAL CURRENCIES (3:45 – 4:00 pm)

• Erik Bethel - Distinguished Fellow, Chamber of Digital Commerce former U.S. Representative to the World Bank

FROM CRISIS TO GROWTH: SECURITY CHALLENGES TO AFFORDABLE AND RELIABLE ENERGY (4:00 - 5:10 pm)

• Kevin Dayaratna - Acting Director, Chief Statistician, and Senior Research Fellow Center for Data Analysis, The Heritage Foundation
• Lucian Pugliaresi - President, Energy Policy Research Foundation, Inc. (EPRINC)
• Mark O. Cojuangco - Chairperson, Committee on Nuclear Energy
• Felix William “Wimpy” B. Fuentebella - Undersecretary, Department of Energy

CLOSING REMARKS (5:10-5:25 pm)

• Aurelio “Dong” D. Gonzales, Jr. - Senior Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives