MANILA, Philippines (Philippines News Agency) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday vowed to work hard to improve the country’s economy so that the next generation of Filipinos would no longer need to leave home to find well-paying jobs abroad.
The president made the promise to the Filipino community in Tokyo shortly after his arrival in Japan for a three-day official visit.
"Ito ang pangako ko... at sana naman sa Diyos at sa inyo... ang pagtrabaho n'yo sa labas, hanggang diyan na lang. Next generation, sa Pilipinas na lang (This is my promise to God and to you that the next generation will find jobs at home)," he said to the applause of the Filipino community.
"We have to improve the economy. That is the only way to really... na balang araw hindi ka na babalik dito. Na kung balik-balik ka dito, bakasyon ka na lang (that one day, you return here not to work but to spend a vacation)," Duterte said.
Earlier, during his departure speech at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2, the president said that his official visit to Japan would be a valuable opportunity to further deepen and broaden Manila's relationship with Tokyo, a "valued strategic partner and one of our (Philippines) true friends."
"With Japan as the Philippines’ top trading partner, I shall seek to sustain and further enhance our important economic ties," he said.
Duterte said he looks forward to meeting business leaders in Japan and to inform them that the Philippines is now open for business.
He said he intends to invite Japanese businessmen to invest in infrastructure development in the Philippines and in high-quality and modern public transportation.
”The visit will be an opportunity for me to personally thank Japan for its preeminent and peerless role as the Philippines’ development partner. I shall seek the strengthening of this role through more high-impact projects that will benefit our nation,” Duterte said.