President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday met members of the Filipino community in Singapore, and vowed to work hard to improve the conditions locally so overseas Filipino workers (OFW) can return home.

A jampacked Ho Bee Auditorium at the National University of Singapore greeted Marcos, who was accompanied by First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and Ilocos Norte 1st District Representative Sandro Marcos.

• Marcos pushes for better welfare for OFWs: 'You deserve a home in government'

Marcos said he was happy to see Filipinos come together in another country even for just a short time, and for voting for him even if they were not able to campaign overseas.

"'Yung magulo na nakangiti, ganyan talaga ang hugis ng Pilipino... nagpapasalamat ako na binigyan niyo kami ng panahon," he said.

(A smiling crowd is the trademark of Filipinos. I thank you all for allotting time for us.)

"Ipagpatuloy namin ang aming state visit at siguro sa makalawa ay balik na kami ng Pilipinas at marami pang kailangang gawin, maraming trabaho," he added.

(We will continue our state visit and maybe we will return home because we have a lot to do.)

Marcos said his government is not just working hard to uplift the lives of Filipinos here but also for overseas Filipinos workers.

"[Itong] mga Cabinet member na ginagawa ang lahat upang tulungan na magpaganda ng buhay ng ating mga kababayan, pagandahin ang ekonomiya para paramihin ang trabaho at kung talagang kami ay maging matagumpay, para pauwiin na kayo at maaari na kayong magtrabaho sa Pilipinas," he said.

(Our Cabinet members are doing everything to improve the lives of our fellow Filipinos and improve the economy to boost jobs. If we will be successful enough, you can go home and work in the Philippines.)

"Lahat, pati kami ay nagulat habang kami ay nagbibilang ng boto na umabot ng labis na 31 million votes ang ibinigay ninyo sa amin, kaya malalim ang utang na loob namin sa inyo."

"Ang aming kapalit ay ang trabaho at pagpapaganda sa Pilipinas," he added.

(All of us were shocked that I had 31 million votes during the elections, that is why we are truly grateful to you. This entails us to work hard and improve the Philippines.)

• Marcos to new OWWA chief: Help migrant workers' kids

Marcos said his state visit to Singapore aims to "fully maximize" the country's trade and economic cooperation with the city-state, noting that it is the Philippines' highest investor in 2021.

"We have Singaporean companies with big ticket projects in the areas of telecommunications, infrastructure, start-up... renewable energy, and health care," he said.

"We proactively attract investments in our country in order to accelerate post-pandemic growth and create more jobs in the Philippines."

Before the event proper, Filipinos greeted Marcos a happy birthday in advance, with the President expressing his gratitude by mouthing the words "thank you." The Philippine leader will celebrate his birthday on September 13.

Around 200,000 Filipinos are currently living or working in Singapore, Philippine Embassy in Singapore Chargé d'affaires Emmanuel Fernandez said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) last week said the Philippines and Singapore are expected to seal agreements on cybersecurity and data privacy during Marcos' visit.

Marcos will have a separate bilateral meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and President Halimah Yacob, and is expected to attend a meeting with the business community in the city-state.

Watch more News on iWantTFC

Video from RTVM