President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived home last night bringing in $13 billion (P708.2 billion) worth of agreements—nearly three times what had been announced earlier—after a “fruitful” five-day working trip to Japan, with investments set to yield thousands of jobs for Filipinos.
The contribution and pledges from the Japanese government and businesses will “benefit our people or create approximately 24,000 jobs, and further solidify the foundations of our economic environment,” the President said in his arrival speech.
Flight PR 001 carrying Mr. Marcos and the Philippine delegation touched down at the Villamor Airbase at 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Early in the President’s visit to Tokyo, the Japanese government announced over 600 billion yen (P250 billion) in pledges and contracts for the country, which seeks to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.
At a forum in Quezon City on Saturday, Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said the President’s working visit to Japan had already yielded about $10 billion worth of investments.
The President said Japan pledged to provide development loans for theNorth South Commuter Railway for the Malolos-Tutuban line and the North South Commuter Railway Project Extension totaling 377 billion yen, (about $3 billion).
Mr. Marcos said the completion of these projects, along with other ongoing large-scale Official Development Assistance (ODA) projectssuch as the Metro Manila Subway Project and many more across the country, “is expected to translate to better lives for Filipinosthrough improved facilitation of the movement of people, goods and services.”
The President also cited his historic bilateral meeting with JapanesePrime Minister Fumio Kishida, which he described as something “bound by shared values and common aspirations for our peoples.”
“We committed to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan and mapped out a transformative, future-oriented partnership that is responsive to new developments,” he said.
The Philippines and Japan also cemented their defense and security relations, agriculture and information and communications technology (ICT) cooperation, with the signing of bilateral agreements that “provide the framework for enhanced mutually beneficial collaborations in many areas.”
The President also had the honor of having an imperial audience with Their Majesties Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan, where said he was able to reaffirm his commitment to enhancing the close friendship and cultural ties between Filipinos and the Japanese people.
A total of 35 investment agreements on various areas of cooperation were sealed between the Philippines and Japan on Friday, witnessed by the President and his official delegation.
Apart from the 35 investment deals, the Philippines also signedbilateral agreements with Japan to boost cooperation in infrastructure development, defense, agriculture, and information and communications technology.
Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual, part of the President’s delegation, encouraged Japanese companies to invest in the Philippines after highlighting several government initiatives in strategic and high-impact areas such as manufacturing, infrastructure, services, energy, and agriculture.
“As we forge commitments in our priority industries, we want to assure foreign investors and businesses that the Philippines will continue to nurture an enabling environment,” he said at the Philippine-led business forum Friday during the presidential visit to Japan.
The Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act offers more attractive and rationalized incentives to foreign investors, including those from Japan, Pascual noted.
“We have also amended our Public Service Act, Foreign Investments Act, and Retail Trade Liberalization Act. The changes ease restrictions on foreign ownership of certain businesses in the country,” the Trade chief said.
He also discussed the recent economic reforms adopted by the country aimed at promoting ease of doing business and providing a favorable business environment where foreign businesses can thrive.
The forum targeted foreign direct investors and portfolio investors from Japan. Potential investments from Japan will generate higher quality, more stable, and better-paying jobs for Filipinos.
Pascual said the Philippines is on a path towards industrialization driven by science, technology, and innovation, enabling improved efficiency, new industries, and new goods and services. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)
Among the strategic business thrusts of the Philippines is participation in the global electric vehicle (EV) value chain as climate change triggers shifts to renewable sources of energy.
The Philippines highlighted plans to leverage the opportunities offered by this renewable energy (RE) sector, as the country is a rich source of mineral ores that can be used in manufacturing EV batteries.
Pascual noted the Philippines’ current efforts to improve digital connectivity and infrastructure in the country that will make business transactions more seamless.
“In terms of digital infrastructure to promote investments, our government is leading our Digital Cities Program. This aims to set up IT-business process management locators in 31 cities throughout the country by 2025.”
“We are aligning similar efforts towards the digital transformation of the government, which should help in robust data systems for programming, efficient service delivery, and more transparency in transactions with the government,” he said.
Pascual also emphasized the geographical significance of the Philippines as a manufacturing hub for the region as it is centrally located in the ASEAN.
Another important factor, he said, is the availability of young, trainable, vibrant workforce, which is a distinct advantage for the Philippines because of our relatively low median age population as compared to other countries.
“If you are looking for a potential for growth and are into industries that require manpower resources like BPOs and manufacturing, then the Philippines is the place to go,” the DTI chief said.
Of the 35 investment deals, Pascual said some are ready to go and some have already been registered with the Board of Investments.
Pascual noted as an example Japanese carmaker Toyota, which earlier bared to bring back its popular Tamaraw model to the Philippine market.
The announcement came after the President met with top Toyota executives on Friday.
President Marcos’ official working visit to Tokyo has drawn an “unprecedented number” of business delegates from Japan and the Philippines, the DTI earlier said.
The DTI noted that 240 Philippine companies and 1,300 Japanese firms, composed of 3,472 businessmen, registered for the meetings held in Tokyo.
Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the Philippines is optimistic of more vibrant trade partnerships with Japan especially now that the economy is on its way to sustained recovery from the pandemic.
Diokno said the Philippines is determined to re-establish itself as a top exporter of agricultural products. Hence, the country has increased its agriculture budget by more than 40 percent and is investing heavily in medium and long-term efforts to increase local food production and modernize the agriculture sector.
The Philippines’ manufacturing output also grew for seven straight months and soared to a seven-month high in December 2022. This makes the country a capable source of intermediate products and services for businesses.
Diokno also said the Philippines’ pool of young, tech-savvy, and English-proficient workers will complement Japan’s forward-looking enterprises, advanced technology, and research and development programs.
“With a median age of 25 years old, the Philippines enjoys what is called a demographic sweet spot. We intend to capitalize on our positive demographic fundamentals to boost recovery and build a more inclusive and modern economy,” he said.
With the goal to maintain infrastructure spending at 5 to 6 percent of gross domestic product annually, the government is implementing the Philippines’ first-ever Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF).
The framework aims to bring down the debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio to less than 60 percent by 2025 then further down to 51.1 percent in 2028 and reduce the budget deficit to 3.0 percent of GDP by 2028.
“We have already made significant headway on this front. With our faster-than-expected growth in the last quarter of 2022, our debt-to-GDP ratio by the end of the year improved to 60.9 percent, lower than the government’s target of 61.8 percent for 2022,” Diokno said.
