What a difference a quarter century makes!

This week I visited Manila for the first time after a 25-year gap. My previous visit was as a tourist. This time I was here as the British Government’s Minister responsible for relations with South-East Asia.

Twenty-five years ago, the Philippines was just emerging from years of dictatorship. The evidence of mis-management and hasty departure was all too evident when I was shown round Malacañang Palace. There was optimism about the prospects for democracy, but also trepidation about the future. What a difference a quarter century makes! When I called on President Benigno Aquino III at the Palace, the mood of optimism was unmistakable. And the same was true all over Metro Manila, above all in meetings with both Filipino and British business leaders.

The bullishness is not without reason. Growth forecasts of 6%, international credit ratings edging towards investment grade, the Stock Exchange heading towards the 6,000 mark, and a budget deficit of 3% of GDP: these are all reasons for the Philippines to feel confident. And just before I arrived, the latest Transparency International survey showed that the anti-corruption agenda is making progress.

Of course, Typhoon Pablo was very tragic news. There is an urgent need to get behind rescue efforts in Mindanao. That’s why, in response, I have pledged P22.2 million (or $500,000) on behalf of the British Government to the UN’s emergency humanitarian assistance fund.

The good news about the Philippines is increasingly well understood in the UK. Our biggest British companies have long been doing business here: banks like Standard Chartered and HSBC have been here since the 19th century. Shell provides the natural gas that keeps the lights on in Manila. GSK provide vaccines and medicines to keep a growing population healthy. De La Rue print banknotes that flow through the veins of the economy. But it’s not just the blue-chips that are interested. The week before my visit, a delegation of innovative British SMEs from the ICT and built environment sectors were here to investigate opportunities in urban development and planning; next month a renewable energy mission will be here to investigate how they can contribute to the green economy. As for those stock-market highs: more portfolio investment comes into the Philippines from the City of London than from any other financial centre.

Like my Prime Minister David Cameron, I firmly believe that business not government drives a healthy economy. So I’ll personally be encouraging more British businesses, big and small, to look at the Philippines.

But of course government creates the context in which business thrives. That’s why I was delighted to meet government leaders who are taking forward economic reform and development including Secretaries Purisima and Abaya, and Secretary del Rosario who is making economic diplomacy a key pillar of Philippine foreign policy. I was able to discuss our co-operation in the Mindanao peace process. Peace in southern Philippines will in my view transform international perceptions of the Philippines, not least among businesses. As a former Minister of State for Northern Ireland, I was really pleased that I was able to coincide my visit with that of a delegation from there, who were in Manila to share experiences of police reform which might just prove useful in Mindanao.  

This year, the British Government has signaled its commitment to a closer relationship with ASEAN, and a closer relationship with the Philippines is central to that agenda. Before Manila I was in Brunei, and as you open your papers this morning in Manila, I expect to be in Burma. Twenty-five years ago, the Filipino people were engaged in rebuilding democracy. Today, the Burmese people are doing the same. As they do so, they should take heart in what the Philippines has achieved over the past quarter century. President Cory Aquino led the resurgence of democracy; now President Benigno Aquino is working with the private sector to ensure a resurgent economy. This really is a great time to be in South-East Asia, and a great time to be in the Philippines. 

(Hugo Swire is UK Minister of State and Member of Parliament. Stephen Lillie will return next week.)