MANILA,
June 27 (PNA) -- The strong commitment of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to
promote inclusive economic growth in the country is yielding positive results,
a Cabinet official said on Tuesday.
Speaking
before members of the media during a press briefing at Malacañan Palace, Trade
Secretary Ramon Lopez enumerated some of his agency's achievements as part of
the pre-State of the Nation Address (SONA) briefings, spearheaded by
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella.
Highlighting
several milestones in the first year of the Duterte administration, Lopez cited
that the number of business companies and organizations coming into the country
rose by five percent to 273 from 261 during the period of July to December of
2016.
“Notable
delegations came from Canada, China, Japan, and even Russia,” he said, adding
that the business delegations are in the areas of ship building, food
processing, banking, and manufacturing.
In
terms of investments, the Cabinet official said the Board of Investments
recorded a 25 percent jump in the number of investments from January to May
this year, compared to the same period in 2016.
At
the same time, Foreign Direct Investments also grew by 11 percent to PHP 1
billion in the first two months of 2017.
“We’ve
gotten the number that business confidence continues to remain very high. We
are hitting the number of 43 percent coming from what used to be 34 to 39
percent in previous period,” Lopez said.
He
said the consumer confidence index, which used to be a negative number some years
back, has reached 9.7 percent.
Lopez
also underscored the productive state visits of President Duterte, which
resulted in the establishment of goodwill with different leaders and agreements
in food security, trade and industry, tourism, agriculture, and
business-to-business, among others.
For
micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMEs), Lopez noted that his agency had
established 271 Negosyo Centers from July last year to June 2017.
He
said the agency had conducted 64 Kapatid Mentor ME programs, or its program of
training and mentoring of MSMEs nationwide.
“So
that’s the main thrust of the Duterte administration, it’s how can we elevate
the life of many of those at the bottom of the pyramid and how can we really
make prosperity and give prosperity for all. So, that’s the reason why in many
of the activities, we’ve been promoting investments as well,” he said.
Investments
still up amid Marawi siege
Lopez
assured the public that the ongoing conflict in Marawi city does not have an
adverse impact on the economic activity.
“But
we’re pleasantly surprised that... On the business, hindi po tayo affected
because ‘yung sa mga negosyante, they really look into the longer term
potential of a country and the fundamentals,” he said.
“So
very bullish ang mga investors locating here. Not to mention the market access
if they locate here, the ASEAN, and even our GSP and GSP Plus in US and EU,” he
added.
During
the same press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Abella reported that the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority signed
a Letter of Intent on June 4, allowing qualified domestic banks in the
Philippines to freely do business in Indonesia, and vice versa.
Meanwhile,
the Palace official was firm in reiterating the government’s stand not to heed
the Maute group's demand for a negotiation.
"Government’s
policy not to negotiate with terrorists remains,” he said.
Abella
also assured that President Duterte is on top of the situation and is aware of
what’s happening despite being out of the public eye.
“Being
out of the public eye that is when he is able to really do office work. He
signs papers, he reads, he consults. He’s actually very busy,” the Palace
official noted.
