Ambassador Neal Imperial (left) and Master Jon Escudero send off Senator Zubiri at the Ben Gurion International Airport.

1 April 2019, Tel Aviv - During a private visit to Israel, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri met briefly with Ambassador Neal Imperial and local arnis master Jon Escudero to discuss plans to introduce the new unified rules for Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) to the diverse FMA community in Israel, which practices several varying styles.

Senator Zubiri, himself a dedicated martial artist and eskrimador, was the principal author and sponsor of RA 9850, which recognizes arnis as the Philippines' national martial art. He has had previous discussions with Master Escudero on ways to promote FMA in Israel, and during the latest meeting shared his proposal to send an FMA expert to Israel to conduct a workshop on the new unified rules.

Ambassador Imperial thanked the Senator for his staunch support of FMA, and welcomed his proposal as a way to elevate the status of FMA among martial arts practitioners in Israel. --- END