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PGMA's Speech During the Toyota Motor Corporation’s Twenty Years of Solid Partnership Celebration |
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Rizal Grand Ballroom, The Shangri-La, Makati City |
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22 August 2008 |
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Thank you very much Secretary Favila for your
introduction. Chairman Cho, Chairman Ty, Ambassador Katsura, Senator Angara,
Congressman Zialcita, other officials of Toyota, President Roman of the
University of the Philippines, other Filipino guests, ladies and gentlemen:
Please sitdown of those of you who have seats. Congratulations, Toyota Philippines, on your 20th anniversary. And on this occasion you inaugurated your new 5.6 billion peso transmission plant. Congratulations! Your expansion brings Toyota’s investment in our country to 20 billion pesos, thank you. And as Chairman Ty said earlier you have paid over 80 billion pesos in taxes to the Philippine government and you give jobs to 12,000 workers. Moreover, you export 700 million dollars a year of auto-parts and components making up 27 percent of our exports. Thank you for that. You contribute to the growth of the great Filipino worker with your 100 million peso donation to the University of the Philippines on its 100 anniversary, thank you. You contribute to Green Philippines, by reforesting the Sierra Madre in Peñablanca, Cagayan and you contribute to the world’s effort to reduce climate change by selling fuel-efficient and environment- friendly new hybrid models. These models can shift from gasoline-fuel to electric power at a touch of a button. We hope to see them soon in the Philippines , I already have one, (laughter) but more than that we hope you produce a part of them in the Philippines. Just like our economy, one of the best values for investment in Asia, the local automotive industry has been able to withstand the full force of a growing global economic slowdown. Local vehicle sales have grown by 14 percent this year, in sharp contrast to the two-digit slump in automobile sales in the U.S. Congratulations! And back in Sta. Rosa Laguna, we have a Detroit of the Philippines. And to have you grow your market, upon my instructions, the Department of Finance, Customs and the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group have formed PORTAL or Ports Transparency Alliance. This is a government-civil society body tasked to monitor collection efforts, gather lifestyle and corruption information, and follow up major smuggling cases. We hope Toyota is active in this body. Let’s work together to stop smuggling,and thereby ensure an expanding market for local-made vehicles. That way, we can encourage more of your investments in the Philippines. For your investments, it is also essential to maintain a peaceful and orderly society. You’re our neighbors in Japan, you do alot of business in the Philippines, so most of you are aware of the recent violence created by lawless MILF groups. I have directed the military and police forces to conduct full, vigorous and unrelenting pursuit operations against the rogue MILF elements. The targeted 105th, 103rd and 102nd Base Commands are historically the recalcitrants. They have created trouble before and during the proceedings of the peace process. And they are the ones we would expect to create problems even after a final agreement would be forged between the government and the MILF. The peace process must be anchored on justice. Hence, the MILF must turn in Commanders Umbra Kato, Bravo and Pangalian to face the bar of justice. We have never deviated from the objectives of the peace process. The campaign we are waging is intended to remove the obstacles to peace. There is no all-out war. We are doing this to have an all-out peace in Mindanao. We have enough troops and law enforcers to address the situation, protect the people, prevent the lawless MILF groups from further terrorizing them, and maintain peace and order in Mindanao. But I bring these news here on this festive occasion because we need the support and cooperation of all sectors, including the automotive and other industries, including civil society and NGOs like the Toyota Foundation. With the support of all sectors, there will be permanent peace in Mindanao. We have worked hard together, infact, we are talking about 20 years of partnership and earlier in the private call, Chairman Ty said that Toyota, Philippines has been working as hard as the President of the Philippines. With our hardwork together and with our strong economic fundamentals which has helped us to be able to weather the global economic slowdown, we will attain the vision of First World status within in the next 20 years of Toyota in the Philippines. Happy Anniversary and thank you! |