Economic security vs. economic coercion

WASHINGTON – Even bigger investments from the United States and Japan are coming our way in the next five years and the number could go as high as $200 billion – double the initial $100-billion estimate that Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez earlier revealed.

At a press briefing in the Philippine embassy in Washington on Thursday last week (Manila time), Amb. Babe was happy to correct his earlier pronouncement of roughly $100 billion in investments coming to the country, saying there would be more because more investors have now expressed interest in expanding in the Philippines following the recently concluded historic trilateral summit among the Philippines, US and Japan.

“Now I have to change what I said earlier during the trilateral (summit) that we’re going to have $100-billion investments in the next five years. I think it’s going to be much more than that at the rate things are going. So we’re very happy, really, quite honestly, with all the things that have happened over the last several months,” Amb. Babe told our group of 10 visiting Filipino journalists.

We are in the US as the pioneer batch of the US Embassy Manila’s Friends, Partners, Allies Program for Journalists.

Amb. Babe said the number could easily double given the improved relations.

“I would think that it would probably easily double. Why? Because, like I said, the interest in the Philippines after the trilateral summit was even much more.”

The potential investments coming our way are in the area of manufacturing, clean energy, electronics and semiconductors, among other sectors.

True enough, Amb. Babe is visibly happy and excited with the enhanced relationship between the Philippines and the US as well as with the historic summit with the US and Japan.

The Philippine embassy in Washington, perhaps much like the US embassy in Manila, has been quite busy, given the flurry of activities including meetings with different groups and individuals, including potential investors.

In fact, during our visit, Amb. Babe was in between meetings; stepping into one meeting after another. He apologized for being a few minutes late to our briefing and likewise had to cut it short because he had to rush to another engagement.

The bigger impact of these developments, the ambassador said, is that it would help ensure economic security for the country.

The ambassador believes that attracting huge investments into the Philippines would make our economy more stable and the country more secure. It would make us more resilient in the face of global challenges.

Thus, he said, the Philippines’ improved relations with the US as well as other partners and allies aren’t just to help us in the heightened tensions in the disputed seas.

“So it’s not only being able to repel any kind of aggression, but more importantly, it’s for our economic security, which is important for our economic prosperity,” Amb. Babe said.

Economic coercion

A stronger and resilient economy, no doubt, would benefit the Filipino people and would lead to economic prosperity. This, in turn, would help us stand on our own feet should we find ourselves facing economic coercion from foreign powers.

We’re getting there, Amb. Babe said, because there is more confidence in the stability of the country today than in recent years, and especially after the pandemic.

Sources from the diplomatic community who are aware of the positive sentiment of businessmen abroad seem to share the same view.

They believe that the Marcos administration is really serious when it tells the world that the Philippines is open for business.

At a separate briefing in New York after the Washington leg of our four-state trip, our group had a chance to sit down with New York Consul General Senen Mangalile and his team.

CG Senen shared the same optimism on our economy, noting that the economic partnership with the United States is now more open, deeper and expanded and would certainly help the country’s growth.

President Marcos’ visit to New York in 2022, CG Senen said, has started “a string of different events that tried to expand and deepen economic relations.”

Listening to our government officials here in the US is comforting. Their excitement is almost tangible.

As a Filipino, I am looking forward to seeing these investments come to fruition because nearly every administration strives to bring in more investments into the country.

The real test is whether or not these investments actually happen and translate to real economic activities for the country and create jobs for Filipinos.

I for one had covered an official presidential visit abroad (not Marcos). There was a huge business delegation and while there was a lot of interest from foreign companies then, only a few actually proceeded to invest in the Philippines.

To-do list

This is because there is still a long to-do list of things we need to fix locally so that we can keep our spot in the radar screen of investors – from our precarious power situation to traffic and graft and corruption.

Our power situation indeed remains as uncertain as it was every summer season when peak demand is unusually high. Some areas are already experiencing blackouts.

There’s also the problem of changing policies as what happened in the past. And then of course, the perennial problem of graft and corruption.

As I said, there’s a long to-do list before the Philippines achieves economic security, but forging goodwill is a good start.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen (Iris Gonzales) on Facebook.