To enter PH as outcome of PBBM’s official Tokyo visit

SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez sees the Philippines getting swamped with a tsunami of investments from Japan, amid overwhelming interest in the country’s economic potential spurred by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos’ official visit to Tokyo.

In an interview with members of the Philippine media at Hotel Okura in Tokyo on Friday night, Romualdez said the kind of positive response gained from the Japanese government and businesses exceeded the expectations of President Marcos Jr. following his official visit to Japan.

“I think he’s thrilled. In fact, I think he’s overwhelmed because there’s just this – I don’t know what’s the word – parang me tsunami ng interest; not just interest but commitments, not just from existing Japanese investors and businesses but even new ones,” Romualdez said.

“So I don’t see why we won’t be getting a deluge – or kumbaga tsunami talaga – of investments and expansion of business opportunities,” he added.

More foreign direct investments into the country would mean infusion of new capital, establishment of new businesses as well as additional employment and business opportunities for Filipinos, according to Romualdez.

Speaker Romualdez was with President Marcos Jr. when the Chief Executive asked Japanese business leaders during the Philippine Business Opportunities Forum on Friday to invest more in the Philippines, with the promise of a strong macroeconomy, liberal business policy and massive infrastructure development agenda.

The Speaker noted that earlier in the day, some 35 investment agreements on a wide range of areas of cooperation have been sealed between the Philippine and Japanese governments and various companies, with President Marcos as a witness to the signing of the Letters of Intent.

President Marcos Jr. also announced that the business matching event arranged by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for 85 Philippine companies yielded more than 255 meetings with their Japanese counterparts.

Romualdez bared that according to the report of the DTI and the Department of Finance, many Japanese businessmen have signified interest to participate in activities lined up for the President’s visit but could not be accommodated because of the limitations of the capacity of the venue.

With the keen interest shown in the Philippines as an ideal investment destination, Romualdez said he is confident of the “incredible” business prospects resulting from the visit of President Marcos Jr. to Japan.

For instance, he noted that one Japanese firm in partnership with Aboitiz is not just bringing new technology to the Philippines for new power sources but is also keen on investing an estimated $1.5 billion in the country’s energy sector.

“So that’s just like one company. Can you imagine how many companies we engaged? We engaged literally hundreds,” said Romualdez, who is among the lawmakers in the official delegation for President Marcos’ Japan visit.

The President earlier said the lawmakers could help immediately address any concerns potential investors may raise about existing or pending legislation in the Philippines affecting businesses.

On Thursday, the Philippines and Japan also signed seven key agreements witnessed by President Marcos Jr. and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida which the Japanese leader said “confirm the broadening and deepening of the bilateral relations” between the two countries.

The seven agreements cover various areas of mutual cooperation including humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, infrastructure, agriculture and digital cooperation.