Noy to Korean investors: Reforms on vs malpractices under GMA

SEOUL – President Aquino yesterday called on businessmen in South Korea to seize the opportunity to invest more in the Philippines, especially now that reforms against the malpractices of his predecessor are underway.

Aquino made the call in a speech he delivered at the Grand Hyatt Hotel here, where he repeatedly compared his government with the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo before the Korean business community.

“Our country is now benefiting from the new face of government: one that puts the Filipino front and center in its agenda. We are looking for partners to sustain our momentum, and invite all of you to join us as we pursue further growth,” Aquino said.

“There is a rising tide in the Philippines, fueled by a growing segment of the population that has the skills to drive businesses, and the spending power to spur profits,” he added, noting that three reputable credit rating agencies have given the Philippines investment grade status.

Aquino raked in $1.7 billion in investments from his two-day state visit in South Korea.

The largest investment came from the Lotte Group of Companies, which committed to build a 350-room hotel in the Philippines, including real estate and food manufacturing business that has a total cost of $1 billion. The projects will be completed in five years.

The second largest investment came from Kepco. It promised to put up $700-million power plants that will produce 850 megawatts in Bataan, Surigao del Sur, Cadiz, and Negros Occidental.

The President also highlighted in his speech the consistent high GDP growth his government has achieved, compared to the sorry state of the economy under Arroyo.

“In the 10 years before we took office, the average GDP growth of the country was 4.7 percent. Since we took over, growth has averaged 6.3 percent yearly, and over 7 percent in these last four quarters,” Aquino said.

He stressed that international business groups have taken notice of Manila’s transformation. “The World Economic Forum, for example, has bumped our country up 26 places in its yearly competitiveness rankings over the course of three years – from 85th to 59th.” 

He further emphasized that under his administration, the Philippines has jumped 29 notches in the Transparency International Corruption Index, from 134th in 2010 to 105th in 2013.

The President also cited the instance when the Arroyo administration decided to import rice even if it was unnecessary and said that this caused the National Food Authority’s P12-billion debt to balloon to P177 billion in nine years.

“My predecessor had us believe that the country needed to import 1.3 million metric tons of rice every year,” Aquino said.

“In 2010 alone, they allowed the importation of 2.5 million metric tons, and actually imported two million metric tons of rice – grossly in excess of what was needed, overpriced, and finally with many sacks of rice ending up rotting in warehouses,” he disclosed.

Aquino noted that it was ironic that the Philippines’ neighbors in Asia send their students to rice research institutes in the Philippines to learn the “best practices in agriculture” only to find out that the country ended up importing rice for local consumption.

But the President said that his administration has refocused their energies on the improvement of the agriculture sector, and that Filipino farmers now have more incentives and agriculture infrastructure have been built.

“Three years into our term, we are almost 100 percent rice self-sufficient,” Aquino said.

“This is just one example of the change we have established in the Philippines. On top of our ever-intensifying battle to clean up the system and hold erring public officials to account, we continue to do the day-to-day work of making government work for everyone,” he added.

Shared passion for Koreanovelas, K-pop and Korean food

Last Thursday night, meanwhile, no less than South Korean President Park Geun-hye acknowledged in a state dinner she hosted for Aquino that Koreanovelas, K-pop and Korean food are “emotional experiences” that Filipinos and Koreans share the most.

“Filipinos today share similar emotional experiences with their Korean counterparts through Koreanovela, through K-pop and through Korean food,” Park said in her welcome remarks at the Blue House, where former local teen sensation and now K-pop celebrity Sandara Park and Filipina lawmaker Jasmine Bacurnay-Lee were in attendance.

“One sees how culture is bridging the hearts of our two peoples,” she added.

This is apart from the fact that Koreans consistently are the highest number of tourist arrivals in the Philippines for the last six years, with more than one million tourist arrivals yearly.

Park said Koreans are “enchanted not only by the beauties of nature (in the Philippines), but also by the warmth” of Filipinos.

She also cited the contribution of Aquino’s late father, former senator Benigno Aquino Jr., to South Korea’s history.

She said that the late Filipino hero worked as a war correspondent in the 1950s for the Manila Times and he managed to make it appear that he was 18 when he was only 17 at the time. – Delon Porcalla