PGMA's Speech during the Luncheon co-hosted by the Four Major Korean Business Associations

PGMA's Speech during the Luncheon co-hosted by the Four Major Korean Business Associations

(Grand Ballroom, Seoul Hilton Hotel Seoul Korea - 03 June 2003)

Thank you very much, Secretary Roxas.

Mr. Chairman, Keil Cheng Son, thank you for your kind words; Mr. President of the KCCI, Mr. Lee So Yong; Mr. Chairman and CEO of the Korea International Trading Association, Mr. Jil Chul Kim and Mr. Chairman of the Korean Federation of Small Industries Mr. Yung So Kim; Ambassador Sang-ha Son and Madame Son.

And may I also greet the leaders of the Philippine Business community, the heads of the Philippine business delegation: Mr. Sergio Ortiz Luis, Jr of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Mike Varela, President of the Philippines Incorporated; Mr. David Balangit, President of the Philippine-Korea Economic Council; distinguished leaders of the business community in Korea and the Philippines; honorable members of the Philippine delegation; ladies and gentlemen:

It's always an honor to be in Korea. And I am honored to be among you today -- men and women of Korea's leading business organizations. The Koreans have individually and collectively shown the world how a nation can sustain its leadership in the developed world. In times of crisis, you have defined the true meaning of nationhood. We remember that in 1997, during the Asian crisis, Koreans lined up before the banks to donate to your government your precious gold and silver heirlooms to help the government. The people of the world congratulate the people of Korea. In particular, the warmth between Korea and the Philippine people is central to our relationship.

I've been to Korea many times before -- I can't count how many times I'd been to Korea -- but its great to be back here to meet with your new president and the many friends I have here. Anytime the leaders of Korea and the Philippines meet, it's an important event. Our relations run deep and remain very strong. It's crucial to get to know President Roh given the importance he will play in Korea's future for the next five years as well as in the region. My trip underscores the deepening ties between Seoul and Manila.

As mentioned by Chairman Keil Cheng Son, the Philippines and Korea share a deep and abiding history. We've fought side by side on the Korean peninsula for freedom and liberty. In the 1950s as chairman said, the Philippines sent 7,000 soldiers to the Korean war. I'd like to reveal something to you that President Roxas is not very well-known here in Korea. The author of the law in Congress, in the Philippine Congress that sent Philippine soldiers to fight side by side with you was no other than my father when he was congressman, Congressman Diosdado Macapagal. But the older generation knows my father later became President of the Philippines. But when he retired from the presidency, your government invited him here to Korea to be an official visitor so that the government of Korea could give him a special award for authoring that law way back in 1951. One of the soldiers who fought by your side -- and this is better known -- also became President of the Philippines, Fidel Ramos. His son-in-law is in our business delegation -- but I'm looking for him, I don't see him now -- he'll be in the meeting tomorrow. Another of the soldiers became Philippine Ambassador to Korea, and I invited him to join us today, General and Ambassador Ernesto Gidaya. Ambassador Gidaya is an example of how the Philippines and Korea have worked side by side to defend freedom.

The Philippines and Korea have also worked side by side to build prosperous Asian economies. In fact, in our own development -- again, as mentioned by his... The honorable Chairman of the Federation -- we've seen Korean businesses increase their investments. In fact last year, we had... I inaugurated KEPCO's 1,000-megawatt power plant worth almost a billion U.S. dollars. We have seen Korean tourists to our shores grow. In 2002, Philippine exports to Korea grew by almost 28 percent and KEPCO's example shows that Korean investments went to such important areas -- aside from the industries mentioned by the honorable chairman of the federation -- important areas as electric power generation. We are particularly pleased that visitor arrivals from Korea in the first three months of this year increased by 22 percent, they represent 17 percent of all our tourist coming in. And that was after having grown by 39 percent for the entire year in 2002. That's as far as our temporary visitors are concerned. But as far as our permanent visitors are concerned, while there are 30,000 Filipinos living in Korea, there are 40,000 Koreans living in the Philippines.

Having said this though, I now have come to Seoul to say that we hope to see more of you outsourcing your imports from the Philippines, and more of you establishing production bases and regional headquarters in our country. Yes, our exports have grown by 28 percent. But the range of our exports to Korea consists of only about 20 product categories, 11 of them related to electronics and only two items, bananas and prawns, related to agriculture. Yes, trade has been fourfold to 4 billion dollars but our total imports from your country exceeds our exports by 1.2 billion dollars. What a big gap, and we hope therefore that you can help us address this gap. For instance, the Philippines is a world class exporter of fresh and processed tropical fruits like mango, Philippine lemon that we call calamansi, coconut; it exports world class processed food like ice cream, biscuits, noodles; it exports marine products, garments and furniture; it exports world class foundry materials like nickel slag, chromite sand, silica sand.

I also believe that a significant potential exists for expanding Korean investments in the Philippines. We seek investments, as I said earlier, in energy and power. We also seek investments in the field of animation, regional I.T.-serviced 24 hours a day, 7 days a week customer relations management call centers, global revenue accounting and other business process outsourcing, software development including online game development.

Our country's strengths are well-recognized: a 29 million strong labor force, made up of talented, skilled and design oriented Filipinos, with a literacy rate of 94 percent, with a fast learning curve and low attrition rate; our country is accessible by air within four hours from any Asian capital; 100 percent foreign equity is allowed; there is free and unrestricted repatriation of capital; there is a fully liberalized foreign exchange system; there is a range of financial and administrative incentives, including up to 8 years income tax holiday and duty-free importation of capital equipment in the economic zones; we have an expatriate-friendly environment, including value-for-money housing, modern recreational and golf facilities, and first rate educational institutions.

And of course, on top of all that, our friendship provides a firm foundation for the times in which we live. A firm foundation for doing business together. A firm foundation for keeping our region secure together.

In the new geopolitical environment post-Iraq war, there is a realignment of relations in Asia marked by several trends including greater national self-reliance and national sovereignty bolstered by strengthened regional cooperation and more strategic global engagement.

From our relations with China, the United States and North Korea, to regional issues like SARS, the nations of Asia are coming of age and dealing more transparently and pragmatically with one another.

The fact that President Roh and I met within days in Washington with President Bush is a testament to the growing geopolitical importance of our region to global power centers.

As Asian leaders, we owe it to our people to impart a new Asian perspective that demonstrates to the world that we are whole and equal partners in global affairs consistent with our mutual self-interest.

We are proud of our strong democratic tradition and the people of our country have made many sacrifices to protect these principles. First and foremost, however, the most basic human right anyone in any country should expect is a quality of life that provides access to education, health and opportunity. We believe that democracy, human rights and economic development go hand in hand.

Politically, the Philippines also represents the closest Asean border to Korea. We remain deeply concerned about peace on the Korean peninsula, particularly a nuclear-free peninsula. We are prepared to do our part to resolve this issue which has great importance not only for the region but also for the world. In my meeting with President Roh this morning, I assured him that the Philippine supports President Roh and the Republic of Korea in your efforts to find a peaceful solution to the North Korean crisis.

We owe it to our peoples to keep the torch of our principled friendship burning, and to show the world that we are fair and equal partners in the search for peace, security and prosperity. Let us continue that partnership. Korean businessmen, lets do more business with each other.

Kamsa hamida and Mabuhay!

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