MikeLigalig.com

RENEWED PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE NEW ERAP
Speech of His Excellency

President Joseph Ejercito Estrada
Dinner hosted by the
United States Chamber of Commerce
Hall of Flags, US Chamber of Commerce Building, Washington, D.C.
7:00p.m., 26 July 2000
I THANK MR. THOMAS DONOHUE, PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, FOR HIS MOST GENEROUS INTRODUCTION. I WISH TO THANK ALSO THE U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ITSELF FOR VERY KINDLY HOSTING THIS DINNER. MOST OF ALL, I WANT TO EXPRESS MY PERSONAL APPRECIATION TO ALL OF YOU FOR COMING TONIGHT.
HEADS OF GOVERNMENT COME TO THIS TOWN TO SEE IF THEY MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO CATCH ITS ATTENTION, EVEN IF ONLY BRIEFLY, ON BEHALF OF THEIR DISTANT COUNTRIES. WE FILIPINOS, ON THE OTHER HAND, CAN CLAIM TO ENJOY A HISTORIC ASSOCIATION WITH YOU WHICH NO OTHER COUNTRY IN THE SO-CALLED FAR EAST CAN EASILY MATCH -- A RELATIONSHIP THAT HAS SPANNED A CENTURY AND TAKEN ON MANY FORMS.

THE PHILIPPINES WAS FIRST A COLONY, THEN A PROTECTORATE, AND FINALLY, AN INDEPENDENT ALLY OF THE UNITED STATES. NO OTHER COUNTRY IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION HAS PATTERNED SO MANY OF ITS INSTITUTIONS -- FROM ITS LEGAL POLITICAL AND BUSINESS SYSTEMS TO ITS EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS -- SO CLOSELY TO YOURS. NO OTHER COUNTRY IN THE REGION HAS SENT NEARLY AS MANY OF ITS NATIONALS TO LIVE AMONG YOU AS FELLOW   CITIZENS AND PERMANENT RESIDENTS. AND NO OTHER ALLY IN THE REGION HAS STOOD BY YOU THROUGH ALL THE WARS IN THE LAST SIX DECADES - FROM THE PACIFIC WAR TO THE KOREA AND VIETNAM WARS.

BUT MUCH HAS HAPPENED TO THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY IN THE TEN YEARS SINCE OUR PARTNERSHIP UNDERWENT ITS LAST TRANSITION IN THE EARLY '90S, INCLUDING THE ONSET OF A NEW MILLENNIUM AND A NEW GLOBAL NETWORKED ECONOMY. SO WE MAKE THIS VISIT TODAY AN ENHANCEMENT OF OUR CENTURY-OLD ALLIANCE AND SHEPHERD IT AS IT CROSSES OVER INTO A NEW ERA. IN THIS NEW WORLD ORDER, WE ANTICIPATE THAT THE CHARACTER OF OUR ALLIANCE WILL ONCE AGAIN MAKE ANOTHER TRANSITION.

AS WITH ANY LONG-STANDING PARTNERSHIP, OUR ALLIANCE HAS SEEN BOTH BAD TIMES AND GOOD. ONE DIFFICULT PHASE OCCURRED DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF MY WATCH WHILE DELIBERATIONS WERE UNDERWAY OVER THE VISITING FORCES AGREEMENT, OR  VFA. THE VFA SOUGHT TO ALLOW U.S. MILITARY FORCES TO CONDUCT JOINT MILITARY EXERCISES ND TRAINING WITH PHILIPPINE FORCES IN PHILIPPINE TERRITORY AND PROVIDED THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE TREATMENT OF U.S. MILITARY PERSONNEL DURING THE PERIOD OF THE EXERCISES AND TRAINING.

THE VFA WAS EVENTUALLY RATIFIED, S YOU MANY KNOW, BUT EMOTIONS WERE HIGH AND THIS WAS NO SMALL POLITICAL FEAT. ONCE THE DECISION WAS MADE TO PURSUE IT, HOWEVER, MY ADMINISTRATION STOOD ITS GROUND AND FACED THE OPPOSITION HEAD-ON.

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGES SUCH AS THIS HAVE MARKED THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF MY TERM AS PRESIDENT. THE FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC CRISIS THAT AFFECTED THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION, FROM THAILAND TO LATIN AMERICA, WAS TRIGGERED BEYOND OUR BORDERS AND CONTROL, YET HAD AN INEVITABLE IMPACT ON OUR OWN ECONOMY, IN THE BANKING, INDUSTRY AND AGRICUTLTURE SECTORS.

OTHER CRISES, SUCH AS WHAT HIT OUR PHILIPPINE STOCK EXCHANGE EARLIER THIS YEAR, HAVE HAD A MORE DOMESTIC CHARACTER, SURFACING FROM WITHIN OUR PRIVATE AND PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS AND BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE PECULIAR BUT VIBRANT DYNAMIC THAT IS PHILIPPNE POLITICS. THESE EVENTS CANNOT BE EXCUSED NOR BRUSHED ASIDE, AND THEY HAVE SERVED TO PINPOINT AREAS WITHIN THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC DOMAINS WHICH REQUIRED REFORM YET, EVEN AS THEY HAVE ERVED AS WAKE UP CALL, THEY ALSO, IRONICALLY, HAVE BEEN THE BEST DEMOSTRATION OF THE BASIC SOUNDNESS OF OUR ECONOMIC FUNDAMENTALS AND THE RESILIENCE OF OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM.

IT IS GENERALLY CONCEDED THAT AMONG THE CUNTRIES DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THE ASIAN CRISIS, THE PHILIPPINES MANAGED TO PULL ITSELF THROUGH RELATIVELY UNHURT. IN 1998, DURING THE WORST YEAR OF THE CRISIS, THE PHILIPPINES RECORDED A CONTRACTION OF ONLY HALF A PERCENTAGE POINT, WHILE OTHER ASIAN COUNTRIES SUFFERED CONTRACTIONS RANGING FROM 6 TO 14 PERCENT. THE PHILIPPINES' CONTRACTION COULD NOT EVEN BE PRIMARILY ATTRIBUTED TO THE ORIGINAL FINANCIAL CRISIS BUT RATHER TO THE COMPOUNDING IMPACT OF THE EL NINO PHENOMENON.

ALSO, IN 1999, BY ACHIEVING A 3.3 PERCENT RATE OF GDP GROWTH FOR THE FIRST YEAR OF THE RECOVERY, THE PHILIPPINES WAS AMONG THE FIRST COUNTRIES TO REGAIN AND, INDEED, EXCEED THE LEVEL OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY THAT IT HAD ENJOYED BEFORE THE CRISIS. THIS HAS BEEN MAINTAINED DURING TEH FIRST QUARTER OF 2000, WHERE GDP GREW BY 3.4 PERCENT, A RATE CONSISTENT WITH OUR GROWTH TARGET FOR THE YEAR OF 4 TO 5 PERCENT.

MY ASSERTIONS ON THE RESILIENCE OF THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMY ARE NOT UNSUBSTANTIATED. ALLOW ME TO QUOATE FROM A RECENT IMF STUDY ON THE PHILIPPINES, ENTITLED, PHILIPPINES: TOWARD SUSTAINABLE AND RAPID GROWTH. IT SAYS, "ON BALANCE, THE PHILIPINE ECONOMY HAS BEEN ABLE TO WEATHER THE REGIONAL CRISIS BETTR THAN MOST OF ITS NEIGHBORS, REFLECTING MORE FAVORABLE STARTING CONDITIONS AS WELL AS THE PRAGMATIC IMPLEMENTATION OF SOUND ECONOMIC POLICIES. THAT THIS HAS BEEN ACHIEVED DURING A PERIOD OF POLITICAL TRANSITION TESTIFIED TO THE RESILIENCE OF THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMY AND BROAD-BASED CONSENSUS FOR SOUND ECONOMIC POLICIES."

THE REPORT ATTRIBUTED THE PERFROMANCE OF THE PHILIPPINES AFTER THE CRISIS TO "FAVORABLE STARTING CONDITIONS' AND SOUND ECONOMIC POLICIES AND MANAGEMENT. THE FIRST REFERS TO THE FACT THAT, COMPARED TO OUR NEIGHBORS, THE PHILIPPINES HAD LESS TIME TO ENJOY THE ASIAN BOOM -- AND THEREFORE LESS TIME TO OVERLOAD ON CHEAP FOREIGN CREDIT AND ITS OTHER EXCESSES -- BEFORE THE CRISIS STRUCK. IT IS ITHE SECOND FACTOR HOWEVER, THE SOUND ECONOMIC POLICIES OF OUR COUNTRY AND THEIR PRAGMATIC IMPLEMENTATION, WHICH IS THE MORE INTERESTING STORY BUT WHICH, UNFORTUNATELY, IS OFTEN BRUSHED ASIDE.

THE PHILIPPINES IS ONE OF THE MOST OPEN ECONOMIES, A RESULT OF A SERIES OF MARKET-ORIENTED REFORMS TO LIBERALIZE, DE-REGULATE AND RE-STRUCTURE THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMY THAT THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT STARTED PUTTING IN PLACE SINCE 1986 AND A LEGACY THAT MY ADMINISTRATION CONTINUED. THESE REFORMS AND POLICIES HAD THE EFFECT OF MAKING THE ECONOMY MORE RESILIENT TO COPE WITH THE CRISIS WHEN IT CAME.

SPECIFICALLY,

BARRIERS TO INVESTMENT WERE REMOVED IN KEY INDUSTRIES, SUCH AS POWER, TELECOMMUICATOINS, BANKING, DOMESTIC AVIATOIN, MOTOR VEHICLE DEVELOPMENT, OIL, AND MINING.'

FOREIGN EXCHANGE CONTROLS WERE LIFETED AFTER 40 YEARS OF A REGULATED REGIME.

THE ENTRY OF FOREIGN EQUITY AND INVESTORS WAS FACILITATED. LAND WAS ALLOWED TO BE LEASED UP TO 75 YEARS AD FOREIGN INVESTORS WERE ASSURED OF (1) REPATRIATON OF INVESTMENTS; (2) REMITTANCE OF EARNINGS; (3) RIGHT TO FOREIGN LOANS AND CONTRACTS; (4) FREEDOM FROM EXPROPRIATON; AND (5) NON-REQUISITION OF INVESTMENTS. OTHERS IN THE REGION DO NOT COMMONLY EXTEND SOME OF THESE ASSURANCES.

IMPORT RESTRICTIONS WERE LIFTED AND TARIFFS REDUCED. BY 2003, THE PHILIPPINES WILL BE A GATEWAY TO A MARKET OF NOT JUST 72 MILLION FILIPINOS BUT 500 MILION PEOPLE OF THE ASEAN FREE TRADE AREA.

DESPITE THE NUBMER OF CALLS THAT WERE MADE TO INSTITUTE EMERGENCY MEASURES DURING THE CRISIS, MY ADMINISTRATION CONTINUED TO UPHOLD THESE POLICY AND STRUCTURAL REFORMS. THE ALTERNATIVE WOULD HAVE SEEN A REVERSAL OR SUSPENSION OF THE GAINS FROM DEREGULATION AND LIBERALIZATION.

BEYOND THE BASIC MACRO-ECONOMIC REFORMS MENTIONED ABOVE, HOWEVER, OTHER AREAS RECEIVED THE PRIORITY ATTENTION BY MY ADMINISTRATION. THESE WERE SELECTED TO FURTHER STRENGTHEN THE FOUNDATIONS OF OUR ECONOMY, PREVENT A RECURRENCE OF THE ASIAN AND, ALSO, SHEPHERD IN THE NEW WORLD ECONOMY. I AM HAPPY TO RELAY THAT WE HAD SEVERAL HOME-RUNS WITH CONGRESS IN RECENT MONTHS AND ANTICIPATE MORE IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS TO COME.

LAST MARCH, THE RETAIL TRADE LAW WAS PASSED WHICH OPENED OUR RETAIL TRADE TO FOREIGN BUSINES COMPANIES AFTER HALF A CENTURY OF PROTECTION. LAST MAY, THE GENERAL BANKING ACT WAS PASSED WHICH ENABLED THE ADOPTION OF INTERNATIONALLY ACCEPTED BANKING, SUPERVISION AND REGULATION STANDARS.

LAST JUNE, ON THE OTHER HAND, ABOUT TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE UNITED STATES WAS ABLE TO DO THE SAME, CONGRESS PASSED A LANDMARK ELECTRONIC COMMERCE ACT WHICH PROVIDED THE LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK TO GOVERN BOTH COMMERCIAL AND NON-COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS THROUGH THE INTERNET. THE LAW GIVES ELECTRONIC MESSAGES AND DOCUMENTS THE LEGAL EFFECT, VALIDITY AND ENFORCEABILITY OF A WRITTEN DOCUMENT, MANDATES ALL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO USE AND ACCEPT THEM, AND PROVIDES PENALTIES FOR COMPUTER HACKING.

FINALLY, A WEEK AGO, I AFFIXED MY SIGNATURE TO THE SECURITIES REGULATION CODE, WHICH ALIGNS REGULATION OF CAPITAL MARKETS WITH INTERNATIONAL PRACTICES BY ADOPTING THE FULL DISCLOSURE METHOD FO REGULATION, AMONG OTHER FEATURES, THE ACT IS A MILESTONE IN OUR EFFORST TO REFORM AND DEEPEN OUR CAPITAL MARKETS.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION, WE ARE CLOSELY FOLLOWING THE PROGRESS OF THE OMNIBUS POWER BILL AND THE BILL TO AMEND THE OMNIBUS INCENTIVES ACT. THE POWER BILL FURTHER DE-REGULATES AND PRIVATIZE THE POWER SECTOR IN THE  PHILIPPINES, THE BILL WAS APPROVED ON THIRD READING BY BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS AND IS PENDING BICAMERAL CONFERENCE COMMITTEE DELIBERATONS.

ALLOW ME TO RECOGNIZE THE PRESENCE AT THIS DINNER OF THE SEANTORS AND CONGRESSMENT WHO HAVE CHAMPIONED THESE BILLS THROUGH THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS.

THE QUALITY OF OUR POLICIES, OUR RESOLVE IN SUSTAINING THEM, AND THE CONOMIC TEAM THAT I PUT TOGETHER TO MANAGE THEIR IMPLEMENTATIONS, WAS MY ADMINISTRATIONS' RESPONSE TO THE CRISIS. IT SAW US THROUGH THE RESTORATION OF MACRO-ECONOMIC STABILITY AND WILL CARRY US FORWARD AS WE RESUME A PATH OF SUSTAINABLE RAPID GROWTH SO RUDELY INTERRUPTED THROUGHOUT THE REGION.

THE PURSUIT OF AN OPEN, COMPETITIVE ECONOMIC REGIME WAS AND HAS BEEN A DRIVER OF OUR COUNTRY'S PROGRESS THROUGHOUT THE ASIAN AND OTHER DOMESTIC CRISES. BUT LET ME NOW MENTION TWO OTHER DRIVERS WHICH ARE JUST AS SIGNIFICANT: OUR LIVELY AND STABLE DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS ON THE POLITICAL FRONT, AND THE UNIQUELY GIFTED FILIPINO, A RESOURCE QUITE UNMATCHED IN THE ASIAN REGION.

WE HAVE BEEN ZEALOUS -- AND HAVE SUCCEEDED -- IN MAINTAINNG A DEMOCRATIC AND STABLE GOVERNMENT. WE BOAST A CONSISTENTLY PEACEFUL TRANSITION OF POWER SINCE THE PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION IN 1986 WHEN FILIPINOS PEACEFULLY TOPPLED A 20-YEAR DICTATORSHIP. WE LIKEWISE BOAST OF A CONSTITUTION WHICH HAS ENSHRINED DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES THAT ENSURE THE HEALTHY CHECK AND BALANCE AMONG OUR EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT. OUR CONSTITUTION ALSO HAS A STRONG SOCIAL JUSTICE CHARACTER TO ENSURE THAT ANY ECONOMIC GAINS ARE DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO.

YES, FROM TIME TO TIME, WE ARE FACED WITH BANDITRY AND INSURGENCIES, WHICH I AM CERTAIN YOU HAVE HEARD ABOUT THROUGH THE MEDIA, ESPECIALLY OUR RECENT TROUBLES IN SOUTHWEST MNDANAO. I SHOULD STRES, HOWEVER, THAT SUCH CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES ARE NOT ENDEMIC AND ARE LIMITED ONLY TO TWO REMOTE AREAS ON THE ISLAND, SULU AND BASILAN. NEITHER DO THEY POSE MILITARY THREATS. AS SHOWN BY THE RECENT FALL OF THE INSURGENTS HEADQUARTERS IN A PLACE CALLED CAMP ABUBAKAR, SUCH SITUATIONS ARE SWIFTLY CONTAINED.

WE ARE MOST PROUD, HOWEVER, OF OUR PEOPLE. THEY ARE OUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET, WHO ARE RECOGNIZED WORLDWIDE FOR THEIR INTELLIGENCE, PRODUCTIVITY, AND INDUSTRY. WE WITHSTOOD THE ASIAN CRISIS ANCHORED UPON THE RESIILIENCE OF OUR PEOPLE AND WE INTEND TO EMERGE INTO THE NEW ECONOMY WITH OUR PEOPLE ONCE AGAIN LEADING THE WAY.

AGAIN, THIS ASSERTION IS NOT UNSUBTANTIATED, WHETHER BY SURVEY OR BY THE RATE AT WHICH OUR BEST HAVE BEEN PIRATED OUT OF THE COUNTRY, IT IS CLEAR THAT THE PHILIPPINES HAS A RESOURCE WHICH IS IN GREAT DEMAND AS THE WORLD ENTERS INTO THIS KNOWLEDGE-BASED AGE. HE MOST RECENT STUDY WAS ONE WHICH WAS RELEASED LAST MONTH, AUTHORED BY DR. HOWARD RUBIN, CHAIRMAN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, HUNTER COLLEGE OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, AND DR. MARGARET JOHNSON OF THE DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY.

IN THEIR BOOK, 47 COUNTRIES WERE RANKED ON THEIR TECHNOLOGICAL POTENTIAL AND COMPETITIVENESS USING FIVE CATEGORIES, NAMELY, KNOWLEDGE JOBS, GLOBALIZATION, ECONOMIC DYNAMISM AND COMPETITION, TRANSFORMATION TO DIGITAL ECONOMY, AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION CAPACITY. BASED ON ALL FIVE CATEGORIES, THE PHILIPPINES CAME OUT NO. 26, AHEAD OF ALL ITS SOUTHEAST ASIAN NEIGHBORS, EXCEPT SINGAPORE, AND AHEAD ALSO OF ITALY, GREECE, PORTUGAL, KOREA, BRAZIL, ARGENTINA, MEXICO, AND CHINA.

MORE IMPORTANTLY HOWEVER, THE PHILIPPINES TOPPED THE RANKING FOR THE FIRST AND ARGUABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT CATEGORY OF KNOWLEDGE JOBS AND WORKERS. THIS CATEGORY MEASURED THE AVAILABILITY OF ENGINEERS, QUALIFIED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WORKERS, AND COMPETENT SENIOR MANAGERS IN A COUNTRY'S LABOR MARKET, AS WELL AS THE NET ENROLLMENT IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS FOR PERSONS AGED 17 TO 34. ON THIS SCORE, THE PHILIPPINES RANKED NO.1. AHEAD OF AUSTRALIA, THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, FRANCE, GERMANY, AND INDIA.

IT IS A PITY THAT WHILE THE PHILIPIPNES HAS THE COMPETITIVE EDGE IN THE I.T. INDUSTRY AND HAS, IN FACT, BEEN THE ENGINE OF MANY KNOWLEDGE-BASED SERVICES FOR SOME TIME NOW, OTHER COUNTRIES ENJOY A HIGHER PUBLIC PROFILE IN THIS ARENA. THE "BREAK" FOR THE COUNTRY, SO TO SPEAK -- THE EVENT WHICH PUT THE COUNTRY SQUARELY ON THE I.T. RADAR - UNFORTUNATELY CAME A THE PRICE OF NOTERIETY, WHEN THE "I LOVE YOU" VIRUS CAUSED BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN LOSSES TO COUNTLESS INTERNET USERS ALL OVER THE WORLD LAST MAY. SADLY, APTITUDE FOR THE ENW TECHNOLOGY CAN GO IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS - ONE WHICH CAN BUILD AND THE OTHER WHICH CAN DESTROY.

WHILE IT WAS FILIPINO TALENT, HOWEVER, THAT LAUNCHED THE DESTRUCTIVE VIRUS, IT WAS ALSO FILIPINO TALENT WHICH FORMULATED ITS ANTIDOTE. CURIOUSLY, THIS LAST FACT DID NOT RECEIVE EQUAL MEDIA TREATMENT OR ATTENTION. IN ANY CASE, CYBER CRIME HAS NO PLACE IN THE PHILIPPINE CYBER ENVIRONEMENT, AND WE HAE ISNCE MOVED QUICKLY TO PLUG THE HOLES AND STRENGTHEN OUR INSTITUTIONS SO THAT SUCH ACTS ARE PREVENTED.

IT IS IN THE ARENA OF I.T. AND E-COMMERCE WHERE OUR TIES AS A COUNTRY CAN BE LEVERAGED INTO THE NEW MILLENNIUM.

IF THERE IS ANY COUNTRY WHICH HAS HARVESTED THE INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL OF THE PHILIPPINES, IT IS THE UNITED STATES. FILIPINOS ARE AND HAVE BEEN A PROMINENT FEATURE OF THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE -- IN HOMES, OFFICES, AND FACTORIES -- PRODUCING QUALITY SERVICES IN EVERY POINT OF THE TECHNOLOGY VALUE CHAIN. OUR POEPLE ARE OUR BEST AMBASSADORS. WE HOPE THAT YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THEM CAN TESTIFY TO THIS FACT TO OTHER  WORLD MARKETS.

MANY WELL-KNOWN FIRMS IN THE UNITED STATES HAVE RECOGNIZED THE I.T. POTENTIAL OF THE PHILIPPINES AND HVE, IN FACT, EMPLOYED FILIPINO I.T. PROFESSIONALS IN THEIR OWN OPERATIONS. IT MUST BE ONE OF THE BEST-KEPT SECRETS THAT THE LIKES OF AOL, BARNES AND NOBLE, BECHTEL, CALTEX AND ARTHUR ANDERSE, HAVE EITHER ESTABLISHED SHARED SERVICE AND BACKROOM OPERATIONS IN THE COUNTRY OR HAVE RE-LOCATED FILIPINO AND TECHNOOGY WORKERS AND THEIR FAMILIES INTO THE U.S. DURING A RECENT INVESTMENT SEMINAR HELD IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA LAST MAY, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM ONE OF THESE COMPANIES GAVE THEIR CORPORATE EXPERIENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES A 95 PERCENT SATISFACTORY RATING. THE OTHER 5 PERCENT WAS WITHHELD ON THE GROUNDS THAT NOTHING WAS PERFECT.

WITH THE ENACTMENT OF OUR E-COMMERCE LAW AND OTHER CAPITAL MARKET AND ECONOMIC REFORM INITIATIVES, MY ADMINISTRATION HAS TAKEN A PROACTIVE STANCE IN APPROACHING THE INFORMATION AGE. IT HAS DECIDED TO LIMIT ITSELF TO DOING WHAT GOVERNMENT DOES BEST: TO PROVIDE A FAVORABLE LEGAL AND REGUALTORY ENVIRONMENT FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO INVEST, CREATE NEW JOBS, AND INVENT NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE NEW ECONOMY. A JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN THE SECRETARIES OF COMMERCE OF OUR TWO COUNTRIES, WHICH IS NOW BEING PREPARED, WILL REITERATE THIS, OUTLINING AREAS OF BILATERAL COOPERATION ON THE PROMOTION AND DEVELOPOMENT OF E-COMMERCE.

WITH THESE INITIATIVES IN PLACE, IT IS MY HOPE THAT OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY CAN CONFIDENTLY CLAIM THAT ITS GOVERNMENT IS ON THE BALL AND PROCEED TO FORGE PARTNERSHIPS WITH YOU SO THAT, TOGETHER, YOU MAY, IN TURN, DO WHAT THE PRIVATE SECTOR DOES BEST: PROVIDE THE CREATIVITY, CAPITAL AND ENERGY TO FUEL ECONOMIC GROWTH, OPPORTUNITY AND PROSPERITY.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:

THE ASIAN CRISIS WAS THE FIRST OF THE GLOBALIZED ERA AND SHOWED ALL COUNTRIES HOW, IN A MORE GLOBAL, INTER-CONNECTED ECONOMY, EVENTS OUTSIDE ONE'S OWN COUNTRY AND CONTROL CAN, NEVERTHELESS, HAVE A DRAMATIC IMPACT ON OUR ECONOMY AND SOCIETY.

EVEN MORE SO BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES LIKE THE UNITED STATES AND THE PHILIPPINES, WHOSE TIES GO BACK OVER ONE HUNDRED YEARS, AND WHOSE HOMES, SCHOOLS AND WORKPLACES HAVE CULTURAL AND PHYSICAL IMPRINTS OF THE OTHER. ALTHOUGH THE U.S.A. MAY CONSIDER ITSELF WAY AHEAD IN THE TECHNOLOGY GAME, THE LONG-TERM HEALTH OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY DEPENDS UPON YOUR ACTIVE CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT WITH US AND WITH OTHER DEVELOPING NATIONS.

THE PHILIPPINES HAS MODERNIZED ITS INSTITUTIONS, LIBERALIZED ITS TRADE AND INVESTMENT PRACTICES, AND IS CONTINUOUSLY INVESTING IN ITS PEOPLE. WITH THAT, I LOOK FORWARD TO NEW ALLIANCES FOR BOTH OUR PUBLIC ANDPRIVATE SECTORS.

THANK YOU AND GOOD EVENING.

* Today's Helpful Tip *
Tala app is a fast and easy way to borrow money, and it's used and trusted by many. Download Tala to join millions of Filipino users today! >>> http://inv.re/9o3vp



Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=91573.0