President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday said the agreements signed on his trips abroad have started to bear fruit, generating P3.48 trillion in investments so far.
“I can already report that some of the MOUs (memorandums of understanding) that we signed in Indonesia and in Singapore now have results. And in fact, I think in the next couple of weeks, we will be starting to inaugurate some of these projects already,” Mr. Marcos said in a video message.
The President met with officials of the Office of the Presidential Assistant on Investment and Economic Affairs (OPAIEA), led by Frederick Go, which serves as a presidential delivery unit, pursuing the President’s priority investment and economic agenda, as well as ensuring timely delivery of investment projects, trade agreements, and pledges.
During the meeting, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual informed Mr.Marcos that his foreign travels resulted in 116 projects worth US$62.926 billion (P3.484 trillion).
Total foreign investments committed during his official visits include Indonesia, $8.48 billion; Singapore, $6.54 billion; United States, $3.847 billion; Thailand, $4.62 billion; Belgium, $2.20 billion; China, $24.239 billion; and Japan, $13 billion.
Of the commitments, $4.349 billion or P239 billion have materialized with the companies in various stages of implementation of their projects in the country.
Projects worth $29.712 billion or P1.7 trillion have an existing memorandum of understanding or letters of intent while confirmed projects worth $28.863 or P1.5 trillion are at the planning stage.
The President said it is now time to consolidate all the investmentpledges and determine what needs to be done so those projects can move forward.
“There are many things that need to be resolved, particularly rules and regulations that are not investor-friendly,” the Chief Executive said, adding they have identified issues that are posing problems to businesses.
“And the next item is going to be, we will have to converge all of thedifferent agencies of government so that we are working off the sameplan,” he said. “That’s what we’ll do because we have to strike while the iron is hot.”
“We’re moving very quickly to, as I say, make sure that while the Philippines is still top of mind of these investors that we immediately explore those opportunities and take advantage of the contacts we made during these trips,” Mr. Marcos added.