Sunny days up ahead, P-Noy tells exporters

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino assuaged fears of Filipino exporters at a time when economic giants US and Europe are experiencing financial slowdown, reassuring them that there will eventually be light at the end of the tunnel.

“I remain confident in your ability to weather the storm,” he told the businessmen who attended the 20th anniversary of PhilExport at the World Trade Center in Pasay City Tuesday night.

“Your situation is not much different from what our administration encountered when we first came into office,” Aquino related, recalling they too didn’t know “exactly what we would find.”

“Even before we started, we knew there were problems we would have to deal with, but we were still staggered by the sheer amount of anomalies we uncovered every day, seemingly in every sector,” he said.

But faith in God and in members of the Cabinet allowed them to put things in order Aquino said, adding that “as we found these problems, we worked long nights to find solutions, and through hard work, perseverance, and a little creativity, we did indeed found the solutions.” 

“This gives me optimism that when the world recovers from the recession, our exports sector will be ready,” Aquino said with confidence and urged the business sector to keep their faith in government in terms of support.

“All I ask is that you continue what you have been doing these past several years, and that you stand by us as we pursue our agenda of reform. In return, we will stand by you now, when things are tough, and in the future, when things will undoubtedly be better.”

Aquino is confident there will be a turnaround in the export industry, although nobody can really predict when the global economic slowdown will end.

“Because I tell you: This slowdown will end, and when the dust settles, the global environment we find ourselves in may be very different from the one that we grew up with,” he said.

“The hot export good may no longer be athletic sneakers, but coconut water. The furniture you manufacture, originally meant to appeal to a newlywed couple in California, may have to cater to the tastes of a couple in New Delhi,” Aquino added.

The bottomline, according to him, is “when the global economy begins to recover, we must be ready to adapt and adjust to whatever the new environment is.”