Pinoy leaders abroad vow to invest in RP

Filipino leaders based in 12 countries have vowed to invest in the Philippines and promote its tourist destinations in foreign markets.

This was announced by Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon as he revealed the contents of a resolution adopted by these visiting overseas Filipinos during a series of fora in Manila recently.

These sectoral meetings, according to Gordon, were participated in by delegates to the Second Global Filipino Networking Convention representing community organizers, businesses and industries from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Lao PDR, Nigeria, Singapore, Taiwan, the United States and the Philippines.

Of the 401 delegates, 229 are based overseas.

They formalized their commitments through resolutions they formulated, adopted and presented to Malacañang at the end of the convention.

Among their commitments outlined in six separate resolutions (economic, tourism, youth, social development, health and medical, and media) are the following:

• Support the Department of Tourism’s "Volunteer 12" program, which seeks to encourage each of the eight million overseas Filipinos to send at least one tourist to the Philippines a month;

• Support the program of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) in organizing provincial associations abroad to raise capital for investment in micro industries in the towns and barrios of their respective home-provinces;

• Devote substantial expertise, knowledge and technology in enhancing the competitiveness of Philippine products and services in the international market;

• Elicit the active support of Filipino communities overseas in establishing a cohesive international business network;

• Explore the potentials of new funding and credit models to develop small and medium enterprises in rural areas;

• Promote the Philippines as a positive destination for tourism and foreign investments; and

• Encourage skills exchange among young professionals based in the Philippines and abroad through the institutionalization of the Transfer of Knowledge, Skills and Technology Program.