Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
During his meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at the White House last week, President Joe Biden observed that there is a “strong partnership” between the United States and the Philippines, noting, too, the “deep friendship, one that has been enriched by millions of Filipino-Americans and the communities all across the United States.”
For his part, President Marcos declared: “The discussions that we had with the US business community also affirm the optimism (with) which international investors view the Philippines today. It was (with) great pride that I received their praises for the talent, ingenuity, (and) work ethic of Filipinos, this has become the main driving force for bringing their investments to our country.”
A group photo showing the seven leading Filipino business leaders after they attended President Marcos’ speech to their US counterparts also speaks volumes on the significance of his visit. They stood together, beaming widely and evidently pleased with what they had witnessed: Sabin Aboitiz, Ramon Ang, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Lance Gokongwei, Enrique Razon, Jr., Teresita Sy-Coson and Kevin Tan. If such demonstration of solidarity would extend to other civil society stakeholders, then indeed, a whole-of-nation approach to economic rejuvenation is well underway.
Concretely, some $1.3 billion in investments were pledged; these would create approximately 6,700 jobs in various industries, including new fields such as solar energy, health care and medical business process outsourcing.
Another remarkable outcome was President Biden’s announcement that the US would send a presidential trade and investment mission to the Philippines, which he called the “first of its kind.” Evidently, there is top-level interest in identifying priority areas in which more vigorous trade and substantial investments could yield long-term benefits.
Investing in high-quality infrastructure through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and expanding the US-Philippines Air Transportation Links was another key outcome of the visit. As announced by the White House, the United States Trade and Development Agency will launch “sustainable infrastructure activities” aimed at raising more than $3 billion in public and private financing.
Only last month at the Philippine economic briefing in Washington, D.C., Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan pitched public-private partnership as the primary mode for implementing the country’s medium-term infrastructure program that targets total spending of from five to eight percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Finally, there was a strong reaffirmation of enhanced bilateral defense links. Following the dual meeting last month between the two countries’ foreign affairs and defense secretaries, the President was honored with a parade-in-review at the Pentagon, an unprecedented privilege. Importantly, the US reaffirmed its “ironclad commitment” to abide by its obligations in the Mutual Defense Treaty, assuring the Philippines of steadfast support in case of aggression from third parties.
Even in light of all-round upbeat indicators, President Marcos emphasized that the state of bilateral ties between the two countries continues to “evolve” in response to the essential volatility and unpredictability of global geopolitical developments.
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Credit belongs to : www.mb.com.ph
