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Mga kababayan:
Nagagalak tayo sa malaking pagbaba ng dami ng mga mamamayang nagsasabing
naghihirap sila, pinakamababa sa dalawampung taon. Ito ang bunga ng ating
mga reporma sa ekonomiya, katatagan ng sambayanan laban sa pamumulitika at
pag-aalsa, at ang lumalagong kumpiyansa at pagtingala ng mundo sa ating
bansa.
Sa tumitinding tagumpay ng ating sama-samang pagsulong ng progreso,
kailangan din natin bigyang-pansin ang ilang pangkat na hindi pa lubos na
nabibigyan ng ating lumalagong ekonomiya at kaban ng bayan. Kaya naman
patuloy ang pakikipagkonsulta ng gabinete sa iba’t-ibang sektor, kasama ang
mga pinuno ng simbahan at iba pang tinig ng mahihirap. Bahagi ng pulong ng
gabinete ngayon ang kagyat na pagtugon ng pamahalaan sa mga usapin, hinaing
at pangangailangang inilapit sa mga opisyal ng pamahalaan. Umasa kayo:
nakinig at kikilos tayo.
Pangunahin sa ating pagkilos para sa mahihirap ang paggamit ng lumalagong
kaban ng bayan para sa mga programang pangkabuhayan, pangkalusugan, pang-edukasyon,
pabahay, kuryente at tubig, at tulong sa magsasaka at mangingisda.
Sa patuloy na pagsigla ng ekonomiya at paghatid ng biyaya sa taong bayan,
pinakamahalaga ang nagkakaisang pagsikap ng lahat, lalo na ngayong may banta
hindi lamang ng presyo ng langis kundi ang paghina ng ekonomiya ng amerika
na baka mag-apekto sa Pilipinas. Kaya naman lalo nating pag-iibayuhin ang
kabuyahan sa kabila ng mga ligalig sa pandaigdigang ekonomiya.
Ito rin ang mensaheng ihahatid natin sa mga pinuno ng negosyo sa mundo na
magpupulong sa Switzerland.
Global engagement and a robust foreign policy are central pillars of our
plan for a safe and strong Philippines. We depart today for Europe and the
middle east to continue to advance the strategic interests of the
Philippines and press the need for closer economic, political and social
relations between the Philippines and the world.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, in Switzerland, we will meet with a
number of world leaders, political and business, who are partners with the
Philippines in bringing peace to Mindanao, aid assistance to our poor, and
greater security in the fight against terrorism.
Another central goal of our trip is to continue the relentless promotion of
the Philippines as a great place to invest and do business. For the first
time in a generation, the Philippine economy is on a path to sustained
economic growth, creating millions of new jobs and billions of new pesos in
revenue to invest in our people and our infrastructure to build up our
nation. Foreign investment is central to that progress. We are proud of the
results of our ability to attract more and more business to the Philippines
in the last seven years.
We will be also meeting with our international board of advisors which is
comprised of some of the world’s top business leaders who are helping
communicate the dynamism and the very positive new environment for business
that’s being created in our nation.
Our journey will also take us to the Arabian Gulf and the Emirate of Dubai
where we will meet with top businessmen from all over the gulf and the
leaders of the United Arab Emirates, a government that’s playing an
important role in global flows of investment capital and energy resources.
This is also a country that employs hundreds of thousands of our countrymen
and women. We will work to ensure that they continue to enjoy the positive
working conditions that they deserve. In our meetings with these fellow
Filipinos, we will assure them that their contributions to their families
and their country is recognized and appreciated.
These visits are part of the commitment of our administration to global
engagement that broadens and deepens our ties, strengthens our security
alliances, encourages trade and investment agreements, and protects our
overseas Filipino workers.
We will continue this engagement in 2008 as we have done throughout my
presidency. We need the world and we like to think the world needs us -- our
hardworking people, our ideal geographic location, and our reliability as a
friend and ally.
Thank you. |
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Thank you Mr Zuellig. I’m glad you’re the one
who introduced me because your family’s investments in the Philippines is
one of the proofs that the Philippines is worth investing and staying in.
Thank you.
Mr. Keller; Mr. Crusler; members of the Swiss Asian Chamber; Secretary
Romulo; Secretary Favila; other officials of the Philippine government;
ladies and gentlemen.
I thank the Swiss Asian Chamber for your warm reception and hospitality on
this winter day and I thank each and everyone of you for taking time out to
join us today. I also want to thank those of you who visited the Philippines
last year.
This meeting is timely because it‘s taking place during a period of great
uncertainty for the global economy.
This is an especially crucial time for world leaders in business and
government to band together to turn the challenges we face today into
opportunities, challenges from the issue of climate change to volatility in
the world markets and the rise of Asia against these uncertainties. So I’m
glad that there is a Swiss Asian Chamber.
And within Asia, the Philippines offers a strategic location in this, our
very fast-growing region of Southeast Asia. Our workforce is well educated,
productive and English speaking and we are cutting red tape to simplify the
requirements for investment. In the midst of world uncertainties, we remain
a competitive location for a wide range of manufacturing and high-end
services.
The Philippines is on a path to permanent economic growth and stability. We
have created seven million new jobs in seven years. We have achieved 28
consecutive quarters of economic growth even when many of our neighbors
experienced negative growth or even recession at some time or another of the
last seven years. In fact, our economy, which rose 7.1 percent in the first
three quarters of 2007, is experiencing its fastest growth in more than a
decade.
The Philippine economy grew faster than the rest of Southeast Asia, despite
oil price volatility and a global economic slowdown. Our international
reserves are also at record levels. We have a balance of payments surplus, a
low inflation rate and low interest rates.
Business and investor confidence is on the rise, the peso is one of the
world’s best performing currencies, and our stock market has reached
historic heights. Our budget is under control and we are raising
unprecedented amounts of revenue. The Philippines offers one of the best
values in Asia for investment.
Over the last seven years, our administration and our people have aimed
high. We have met the challenge of economic and fiscal reform. Seven years
ago, expanding the taxpayer base, strengthening the peso and attracting
foreign investment were our biggest challenges. To some, our goals of
balancing the budget, lowering debt levels and raising employment seemed
ambitious at best. Seven years down the road, our unwavering commitment to
installing the necessary reforms to move our nation forward has allowed us
to make important progress on all these fronts.
In the midst of world uncertainties, it helps that we have one of the best
and most awarded central banks in the world, which has helped the
Philippines achieve a stable macroeconomic environment that is making us
much more resilient to external volatility. We are vigilant that our efforts
should not be derailed by the sub-prime crisis and the subsequent credit
crunch. We count on the Central Bank governor and his team, who operate
independently, to continue to ensure stable macroeconomic fundamentals to
support our robust economic growth during a time of continued global
economic volatility.
Foreign investment in the Philippines has grown more than five-fold from
2003 to 2007. This surge of investments has been anchored by billion dollar
plus investments by several major international companies, including Texas
Instruments, which chose the Philippines over other locations including
china for its $1.6 billon wafer fabrication plant, Korea’s Hanjin which is
putting up two shipyards for $3.7 billion, making us the fourth largest
shipbuilder in the world; Marubeni, Tokyo Electric and America’s AES which
have put in billions in our electric power industry and Mittal Global which
has conveyed to me their plans for putting up a $1.6 billion integrated
steel mill in Mindanao. Significant new investments are being made across
the board in a number of industries, especially mining, technology, energy,
tourism, business process outsourcing and infrastructure, are also creating
significant investment opportunities for both domestic and international
investors alike.
The Philippines is ranked among the most attractive off-shoring destinations
in the world because of cost competitiveness and more importantly our
country’s highly trainable, English-proficient, it-enabled quality manpower.
Our outsourcing sector has the potential to grow 40 percent per year from
2007 until 2010, which would put in on track to double its global market
share in three years. This rate of growth also means revenues from the
outsourcing sector would grow four-fold from the current level of $1.3
billion, and employment would triple to 900,000 jobs.
The government and private sector work together to develop talent to support
the rising demand for quality workers in outsourcing and expand outsourcing
capabilities to new locations across the country beyond the centers of
Manila and Cebu to tap larger talent pools.
Some of the joint initiatives include training, funding for education, and
creating awareness of career opportunities to attract more graduates to
pursue jobs in the outsourcing sector. The government and the private sector
also work together to reassess current tertiary and secondary education
curricula to respond to the emerging needs of the market. To develop next
wave cities, the government is developing it hubs in Clark, Dumaguete and
Iloilo to encourage greater levels of outsourcing investment in these
locations.
In recent years, the outsourcing sector has expanded beyond call centers and
it to include a range of professional and business processes including
accounting, human resources, financial analysis, design engineering,
animation, medical services, legal services, insurance processes, banking
processes, map making, publishing, content creation, and research.
We are certainly a leader in the outsourcing space, but we cannot
underestimate the contribution of other high growth sectors to our economy:
manufacturing, technology, mining, energy, tourism and infrastructure.
Our strongest competitive advantage – our people – is also opening doors for
us in medical tourism. The Philippines is recognized internationally for the
uniquely Filipino brand of hospitality, care and compassion that makes us a
competitive player in this sector. In fact, recently, the European Chamber
of Commerce and industry together with the American, Japanese and Korean
Chambers of Commerce have endorsed our strengths in this area by forming a
coalition to promote the Philippines as a healthcare destination for
foreigners.
Mining is a key driver of our economy and an important sector that is
bringing in significant levels of investment, creating jobs for the people
and spurring exports.
The world’s biggest players from Australia, America, China and Japan have
already been flocking to our country to invest and to conduct exploration.
Last year, investments grew grown more than the last three years combined.
Mining will grow into a us$10 billion industry by 2010.
Our economy is booming, but like so many places in rich and poor nations
alike, we must fight to close the gap in income inequality. There is no
justification in this time and place in history that government policies
should be tilted to maintaining the status quo that ensures the domination
of the many by the few. And while I am fighting for social justice, I am
fighting even harder for economic justice, for a strong economy is the best
weapon for the liberation of the poor and oppressed.
We are now focused on further raising our competitiveness to sustain our
momentum. For the first time in decades, less of our revenue is being used
to service debt and more resources are being directed towards investment in
human and physical infrastructure including education, healthcare and
training as well as new bridges, roads and ports. Hopefully this will
attract more investment, including Swiss investment.
We take pride in the discipline of our administration to focus on the
economy and our overall economic health. Our economy is performing at an
all-time high in every aspect. We are in a stronger position than ever to
instill permanent economic change in our country and to work together to
ensure we achieve long-term prosperity for many generations to come. There
is no better time for investors to take advantage of the many opportunities
crated by our strengthening economy. |
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Thank you. Thank you for being here for
taking time of your business schedules to join us. So what I hope will be a
very interactive sessions so I’m not going to give a speech. I guess what I
can give is an opening remarks especially because we’re doing this
roundtable not only … The Philippines is doing well but with the world …
Might be doing well in contrast.
This week’s … uncertainties underscore that business and government leaders
around the world must collaborate closely. And here in Dubai with the
leaders of the top corporations and financial institutions and investment
houses in Dubai and in the gulf is very helpful especially with the rapid
rise of Dubai in the world of finance and economics.
This is part of our foreign policy and even trade and investment. An
aggressive policy is essential to the lifeblood of the Philippines and
that’s why I’m meeting with you investors who have expressed an interest in
the Philippines.
Dubai is in the Middle East and the Philippines is in Southeast Asia but we
are both in Asia and further economic integration among Asian nation is
imperative if we as a region are to take advantage of the expanding global
trade and economic opportunities and especially this week face the
challenges of the global economy.
Mr. Rankin has said that it’s a good time for the Philippines to introduce
itself in the world, yes, our economy has reached a new level of maturity
and stability with some of the strongest macroeconomic fundamentals in a
generation. We’ve aimed high, we’ve met the challenge. Seven years ago, no
one thought we could get more revenues or crackdown on tax cheats or
strengthen the peso, or move the stock market. No one thought we could bring
our budget close to balance, lower our national debt, and raise employment
but we have done all these things that no one thought we could do.
So today, the Philippines is on path to permanent growth and stability.
Investors are pouring in, I can talk about that later in the open forum
which have been prepared for us. The peso is strong, our stock market has
reached its historic heights. We’ve created seven million jobs in seven
years. And I’m glad that Dubai and the gulf are taking notice and I hope
that you consider the Philippines as one of the best values in Asia for your
investment.
The global economic situation is clearly a prime issue for us. Because the
more interconnected we become, the more we need to manage to the ups and
downs of another nation’s bubbles. This is certainly true should the u.s.
economy experience more volatility.
Clearly, there will be some impact of the u.s. uncertainty of all countries
because of the global significance of the u.s. economy. However, while a
slowdown on the U.S. economy could dampen the global emerging markets, we
are confident that the Philippines will withstand the adverse effects of
such a development largely because of our economic fundamentals.
The good news for the Philippines is that we have matured and diversified
our markets so much that in the last few years, we’ve developed so many
markets and we developed our own domestic economy so we are confident that
our economic turnaround is permanent and our economy is resilient to major
economic destructions.
So especially with the global news of last week, I very much welcomed this
discussion and I hope that I can hear the prospect of everyone in this room,
and of course, first of all, I’m interested in your investing in the
Philippines.
Thank you. |
