ABS-CBN reporter Jekki Pascual. 

MANILA — ABS-CBN News senior reporter Jekki Pascual was selected to take part in the "Friends, Partners, Allies Reporting Tour for Journalists" in the United States from May up to June this year.

Pascual is among the six Filipino reporters and editors selected and the only broadcast journalist in the group. Aside from the Filipino journalists, four Japanese journalists were also selected to join the program.

This is the second year of the reporting tour, but the first trilateral edition which will focus on the growing ties among the Philippines, Japan, and the US. The program is funded by the US Department of State and administrated by the independent non-profit organization Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) Global.

Based on the program overview, the reporting tour “aims to bolster the understanding of and appreciation for Filipino and Japanese diaspora communities in the US by examining their role in building, strengthening, and expanding ties between the American, Filipino, and Japanese people.”

There will also be engagement with industry leaders and organizations in technology, infrastructure, trade, as well as examine security, political, and diplomatic socio-economic relations among the three nations.

The program will include visits to Washington D.C., New York, Seattle, San Francisco, and Honolulu.

Pascual, a business reporter, covers various economic topics such as trade, banking, corporate, aviation, telecommunication, among many others. He was recently awarded TV Journalist of the Year 2024 by the Department of Budget and Management. 

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