ShareThisMANILA — President Benigno S. Aquino III arrived early Tuesday morning from his successful week-long trip to the United States which, he said, had garnered for the country US$ 2.4-billion in new investments.
In his arrival speech at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Centennial Terminal II, President Aquino said officials of top firms from the US, Malaysia and Singapore had expressed intentions to put in more investments here to expand their economic relations with the Philippines.
The President met US President Barack Obama, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during the US-ASEAN dialogue, among others, in New York.
The President noted that company officials wanted to expand their scope of operations in the country due to the renewed vigor and confidence of the Philippines under his administration.
“In the last week during our visit to the United States, we were able to send our message across: the Philippines is open for business,” the President said after he alighted from his commercial flight from San Franciso, California at around 4 a.m.
“Sa pakikipag-usap natin sa mga pinuno ng pamahalaan ng Singapore at Malaysia, nagkaunawaan kami sa posibilidad para sa pagpapalawak ng ugnayan pang-komersyo (In our meetings with the governments of Singapore and Malaysia, we reached an agreement to improve our relations in the field of commerce),” he said.
“Maganda ang mga naging usapin namin at ito ay magiging mabuting simulain sa pagpapalakas at pagpapalawak ng ugnayan ng kanilang ekonomiya at ng ekonomiya ng Pilipinas (Our dialogues mark the beginning of the strengthening and expanding of our economies),” President Aquino said.
President Aquino also said that officials of top US companies Coca-Cola, Pfizer, AES, Hewlett-Packard, JP Morgan Chase, Sutherland Global Services, Inc., Century Properties, General Electric, Headstrong Corporation, SPI Global and Affinity Express have also expressed their desire to open and expand their operations in the country covering a “wide range of sectors such as power generation and consumer products, business and knowledge process outsourcing, healthcare and garments and leather goods.”
“We were able to secure a commitment of at least 43,615 new jobs in the next three years including some 4,500 in construction related jobs and because of the multiplier effect, we estimate some 200,000 more jobs to benefit our countrymen,” he said.
“AES, a global power company, will expand the capacity of the Masinloc power plant by up to 660 megawatts with a project cost of -billion,” the President stressed.
“Coca-Cola will invest another billion dollars in their upgrading and replacement of equipment and creation of new products and processes…while the other companies are investing another $ 400-million,” he said.
According to the President, his visit to the United States “enabled us to generate US$ 2.4-billion in new investments.”
“Furthermore, we received an additional $ 434-million in the form of a grant from the Millennium Challenge Corporation to expand the coverage of existing social programs that have been performing outstandingly,” he said.
“Masasabi natin na ang mga pag-uusap na naganap ay hindi lamang pakitang tao. Malawak at detalyado ang mga nagging usapin natin at nararamdaman ng mga dayuhan ang bagong sigla at kumpiyansa na nararamdaman din ng napakaraming Pilipino,” the President said.
He called on all Filipinos, especially those who continue to criticize his government to put aside their rantings and join him and his government’s advocacy to lift the lives of the citizenry through hard work and perseverance.
“Hinihikayat ko ang mga kapwa nating Pilipinong panay pa rin ang batikos, maki-isa sana kayo sa ating pagsisikap,” the President concluded.