Breakfast with Joey

I first met and covered Joey Salceda in the 1990s when he was a hotshot economist and analyst, impressing and befriending the Central Bank Press Corps with his analysis and spot-on projections. I also learned early on about his acerbic wit, frank observations and received some of his sharp barbs if I didn’t catch on to what was being discussed.

He eventually became the go-to source of several business reporters, explaining and helping clarify financial transactions and even pointing out leads that we should follow. However, he eventually got tired of being in the financial sector, especially after a controversy over alleged insider trading accusations and decided to become a politician. Unsurprisingly, he found that politics was actually his niche.

His political career, of course, has been varied and well-known, and much like his early days in the financial sector, he has not been afraid to speak his mind or be controversial in his views on economic and financial policies.

It was thus refreshing to reconnect after a couple of years during the breakfast forum of the Monday Circle at the Westin Hotel in Ortigas with the irrepressible analyst and legislator, who still does not fear being forthright, controversial and oftentimes offensive to those who do not know him.

Although the main topic of discussion was artificial intelligence, many other interesting issues were also touched on, such as food security, government bureaucracy and corruption, the slow legislative mill, regulating the securities sector as well as cryptocurrency trading, intellectual property protection, POGOs and the Chinese economy.

As he had previously commented on the need to regulate the AI sector, Cong. Joey is also advocating for the regulation of cryptocurrency, which, unfortunately, the Philippines continues to be unfamiliar with and suspicious of, leading to scams.

There was also an interesting conversation on the economy, with Cong. Joey describing the Philippine economy as dysfunctional, or, to be more precise, immoral. He cited the case of Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, who is accused of being a Chinese spy, and, along with several others, has been able to launder at least P101 million of Chinese funds funnelled into the country primarily through POGOs (Philippine offshore gaming operators), which have since been renamed internet gaming licensees (IGLs).

Cong. Joey points out that the outflow of Chinese funds is due to the collapsing real estate economy of China. Thus, the inflow of Chinese investments in POGOs/IGLs and also into Philippine real estate has been one of the major factors that has buoyed the local economy and propped up the Philippine peso, despite the country’s dismal trade performance, with a growing trade deficit from a declining export sector and increasing dependency on imports.

He revealed that the Philippines is heavily reliant on imports from China, amounting to around $52 billion, of which only about $18 billion is actually recorded, reflecting the dysfunctional aspect of our economy.

With the continued outflow of funds from China, which has found its way to the Middle East and our neighbors in the ASEAN region, Cong. Joey argues that the Philippines should have continued to maintain such flows, which in the past had provided employment to almost half a million Filipinos and fueled the boom in the Philippine real estate sector.

Cong. Joey noted that criticism over the negative aspects of POGOs resulted from the internal turmoil of the Chinese operators, who started poaching talent and people from each other. He said the government should have ensured the sector reverted to its original intent instead of completely banning POGOs, whose benefits are now going to other countries.

Another interesting observation from Cong. Joey is the government’s continued failure to develop and grow our soft economy, which has propelled other nations, particularly South Korea and the US, to boost their economies.

According to the Albay representative, Korea’s initial investment of $380 billion in its then Gangnam music, now known as K-Pop, has made it an international powerhouse.

The Philippines’ visual arts capability, he believes, is “incomparable” and not replicable. During the time of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, he recalled, as her chief of staff in 2008, he allocated P100 million in stimulus to develop that sector.

Malaysia’s charity golf

The Embassy of Malaysia, together with the Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industries Philippines Inc. (MCCI), is holding its third charity golf tournament tomorrow, which it initially started in 2022. Proceeds from the golf tournament will go to the charitable projects of the embassy.

This year’s tournament, however, will be primarily sponsored by the Malaysian-owned Maybank. Thus, this year’s event will be known as the Maybank – Malaysia Friendship Open 2024, to be held at the Pradera Verde Golf & Country Club in Pampanga, owned by Bong Pineda.

Previously, the event was known as the Malaysia Friendship Golf or MYFG. This year, according to Malaysian Ambassador Dato Abdul Malik Melvin Castelo, Maybank has agreed to be the primary sponsor and will, hopefully, continue to support the event in the future, along with other Malaysian companies. This year’s golf tournament is also co-sponsored by 54 other companies. The tournament is jointly organized by the Embassy of Malaysia in Manila and MCCI, a non-profit organization and the first ASEAN member to have a business chamber in the Philippines. This annual event has become a hallmark of Malaysia’s diplomatic and professional engagement, aiming to strengthen collaborative relationships, revitalize connections and promote a positive environment among stakeholders from both nations.

The tournament will see the participation of around 216 golfers from Malaysia and the Philippines, including prominent business leaders, members of the diplomatic community and government officials.

All proceeds will be directed entirely to charity, with part of the contribution going to two schools in Pampanga and one school in Bulacan, as well as funding other charity projects of the embassy.