Speaker instrumental in arranging meeting, cites economy’s strong performance

SPEAKER Martin G. Romualdez joined President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. on Saturday in a breakfast meeting with World Economic Forum (WEF) Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab to discuss the possible participation of the Chief Executive in the WEF annual meeting to be held in Davos, Switzerland, in January next year.

Romualdez was instrumental in arranging the meeting amid the busy schedule of President Marcos in the ongoing 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits and related summits in Cambodia.

“It might be a good time to herald to the whole world that the Philippines, with a very new and very popular leader, and with very competent and experienced economic managers is open for business,” Romualdez noted during the meeting held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Phnom Penh.

Schwab said President Marcos should seriously consider participating in the upcoming Davos forum.

“Mr. Speaker, I would formally recommend that he comes next year because he is a newcomer in the international scene and I know that the business community has a lot of thinking going on about how to reshape the international supply chains,” Schwab said.

He noted that such decisions are being made now by the world’s business leaders and the forum would provide a good avenue to promote the Philippines as an international trade hub.

According to Schwab, one advantage President Marcos would bring with him into the Davos forum Is the overwhelming mandate he received in the last elections, getting over 60 percent of the votes.

“Many people would be envious of that,” he said.

During the initial phase of the discussions, Romualdez cited the recent report of the National Economic and Development Authority showing the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) exceeding expectations by posting a growth of 7.6 percent in the third quarter of the year.

Such growth is faster than the 7 percent growth in the same period last year, and the revised 7.5 percent growth in the second quarter.

He noted that the Philippines achieved such a strong economic performance despite the current global economic challenges brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the supply chain disruption.

Among others, Romualdez attributed the country’s ability to withstand external shocks to its young workforce and the dollar remittances of overseas Filipino workers reaching up to around $40 billion annually, equivalent to over 10 percent of the country’s GDP.

Trade and Industry Sec. Alfredo Pascual, who was also present during the meeting, added that the growing business process outsourcing industry as well as the electronics sector also contributed significantly to the country’s rapid economic growth.

Another factor that augurs well for the prospect of the Philippine economy, according to the Speaker, is the successful peace process in Mindanao that practically put an end to decades of conflict that raged in the South.

“We now have peace after three generations of conflict and war,” he said.

When President Marcos arrived, the Chief Executive started the discussions by informing Schwab of the developments in the ASEAN Summits.

Established in 1971, the WEF “engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.”

On its website, the WEF said it “strives in all its efforts to demonstrate entrepreneurship in the global public interest while upholding the highest standards of governance” and that moral and intellectual integrity is at the heart of everything it does.