Noy to APEC CEOs: Come in and be part of Philippine story of growth

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino called on global business leaders to come into the Philippines now or miss opportunities to help Filipinos win freedom from hunger in a sustainable manner as part of inclusive growth strategy.

Speaking at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in Makati City last Monday, the President presented two stories of conditional cash transfer program beneficiaries in the country who spoke about how they gained hope and became determined students looking at a brighter future because of such assistance from government.

He said this was part of the Philippine story in eradicating poverty and developing a society where no one would be left behind in growing the economy.

Asked about his specific message to investors that he would like to share during a conversation on “APEC’s Inclusive Growth Imperative” with CNN International Asia-Pacific editor Andrew Stevens, Aquino said: “I guess the central message is: We really invite you to come in now rather than tell us two years or three years from now that you should have listened to our advice.”

He cited the cases of American and Japanese manufacturing companies that saw the potential in the country and would like to set up research and development facilities here because of the kind of workforce that the Philippines could offer.

The President said the Philippines is no longer being seen as a cheap source of labor, rather, that of young and skilled workers that could be very beneficial to companies.

In the recent Forbes Global CEO Conference in Manila, Aquino also said the participants were asking why they forgot the Philippines despite its achievements in the past years.

“It is worthwhile to come in,” Aquino said, quoting feedback from the Forbes conference that: “This is the right time to invest in the Philippines.”

The President said his administration’s investments in the people and right projects were paying off and there was no way to go but continue the strategy of including people in all of the undertakings by the government and businesses.

He admitted though that there were infrastructure projects that should have been completed early on and that the causes of delays, such as court cases, could be frustrating. Aquino added that though there had been achievements, much had to be done as well especially in lifting people from poverty.

He said the first thing to be done was to “capacitate the people” by investing in education particularly from elementary to high school and the whole process would take about 13 years if the K-to-12 program was also to be considered.

Aquino said they pushed to get that new curriculum in place as he also cited to build all of the facilities that were neglected previously. For example, he said classroom shortage was declared solved by the previous administration by making students go to school in two to four shifts until the evening and even sharing of books that were onerous.

But he noted government interventions undeniably made a difference. In his speech, Aquino said the initial results of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s most recent assessment revealed that at least 1.09 million households had been lifted from poverty, which was roughly equivalent to 5.45 million Filipinos.

“I share our story with you today because I believe we can do this on a regional scale; I believe if we work with each other’s economies, and if we harness the strengths of all our peoples, we can give rise not only to inclusive national economies, but to an Asia-Pacific where our citizens truly know what we talk about when we say ‘growth,’” Aquino said.

“I am aware that this will neither be easy nor quick, but we have reason for optimism. The more that people gain the first freedom — which is freedom from hunger — we set an environment that nurtures the growth of all the other freedoms,” the President said, noting how the Philippines became free through a peaceful people’s revolution in 1986 but as his late father stressed, “the first freedom is the freedom from hunger.”

“That is the first that has to be won,” he said.

Horror story

Since he is leaving office soon, Aquino expressed belief that the Philippines could become a “horror story” if it were to go back to where it was before.

“But now I think that our people have gotten to the point that they know what the government is capable of, if it is run properly and they will demand it from those who come after us,” Aquino said.

Asked about his successor and if the Philippine economy’s growth trajectory was irreversible, Aquino said the Americans believed: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

“And some foreign observers — some of the ratings agencies don’t expect a major change in governance no matter who wins. They say that even the political noise, which is very noisy in their country, is kind of muted and subdued at this point in time,” Aquino said.

Asked if this would mean long-term sea change, Aquino said: “Yes.”

“There are businesses, restaurants, everything that caters to tourists are already being build up that we never even thought of probably five years ago…I was telling you earlier, the tourism sector was one of the low-lying fruits that we saw. We believe that for every foreign tourist that comes to our country, a job is generated,” Aquino said.

He said there was no need for much education before tourism-related jobs could be created and that “we hope that this is not just a temporary thing but really, you know, a very positive attitude that has changed what used to be apathy.”

“Now, the infrastructure that we are building or have built, some of them were promised to us in the ‘70s when I was in grade school. You know there is a major irrigation project that was first thought of when I was born. And now it’s here. Now people are getting to see the real benefits. You know I am really trying to encapsulate it in a sentence something to the effect that oftentimes I am told, these were things we aspire to and dreamt about and thought we’d never see,” Aquino said.

 Aquino said if the private sector could really be involved in this mission of achieving inclusivity with the economies, the goal could be achieved sooner rather than later.

 “Together, I am confident we can author the next great chapter in the history of human civilization; as a connected, synergized Asia-Pacific, we can bring about the advent of a region — and a world — where no one is left behind,” he said.

The APEC CEO Summit is the Asia-Pacific’s premier business event. This year’s theme is “Creating the Future: Better, Stronger, Together” attended by over 700 chief executive officers from across the Asia-Pacific region.

The current chairman is Filipino businessman Tony Tan Caktiong, also chairman of Jollibee Foods Corporation, who said Aquino was able to transform the country from being an economic laggard to one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies.

This year’s summit includes for the first time small farmers and micro, small and medium enterprises, climate change and women. Aside from the investments in CCT program, education and health services, the President said technical-vocational courses were offered to help citizens find employment in big companies or industries.

“I recall a very early meeting I had with my Cabinet, in which we discussed why the poverty rate hardly moved over the past decade—or what I sometimes refer to as a ‘lost decade.’ The numbers were alarming: Income growth was low, and inequality was at incredibly high levels, in terms of access to employment and social development opportunities, particularly in health, education, and social protection. All this, despite relatively consistent economic growth,” Aquino said.

“When one thinks about it, it is quite sad. If 10 years ago, if my predecessor had done what we’re doing now, I can only imagine where the Philippines would be. Of course, I am also aware that past is past, and nothing you can do in the present or the future will change it. Nevertheless, remembering the past revitalizes us—and energizes us to make up for lost time,” he said.

He reiterated that “good governance is good economics” and made sure that scarce resources were invested in meaningful programs and projects that included the people in the budgeting process, plugged leaks in the bureaucracy and fought corruption up to the highest level of government.

 He said from bankruptcy, the Philippines had afforded to increase infrastructure budget to 4.10 percent of a GDP that exhibited fast-paced growth and that the goal was to increase it to five percent.

 “I am told that a lot of times we are nearing the absorptive capacity of the government to implement these infrastructure projects, which means that we need more engineers, more qualified contractors, particularly in far-flung areas, and more building materials, among others, to build the roads, airports, and seaports necessary to give rise to the connectivity we need to allow everyone to participate in our growing economy,” Aquino said.

 “Indeed, our entire growth strategy hinges on the idea of empowerment. Empowered citizens, after all, are empowered consumers, whose income will go to the goods and services produced by companies. The end result: Instead of having many big fish in a very small pond, we are moving our economic ecosystem into a bigger pond, where everybody can grow and reach their full potential,” Aquino said.

 He said Filipinos had turned into demanding citizens from being apathetic in looking for solutions to the country’s woes and that was because they felt the growth and changes that the government was talking about.