President Aquino said on Thursday that while the global economic uncertainty has slowed down growth in major markets, it stands to “open doors” for countries that have “displayed relative stability” like the Philippines.
At the Arangkada Philippines Forum at the Marriott Hotel in Pasay City, Mr. Aquino also addressed concerns raised by members of the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines, which ranged from the government’s thrust in agriculture, to high power rates, climate change and the government’s mining policy.
He said forecasts have a “common message”—that 2012 “is going to be a challenging year for the global economy, particularly in the West” and cited the credit-rating downgrades of France and Italy, the uncertain fate of Greece, and the prevailing cautious optimism even with signs of a recovering US economy.
The President said that while such developments will affect Philippine exports and the dollar remittances of its overseas workers, they will also “open doors for countries that have displayed relative stability,” among them, the Philippines.
“Capital has been looking eastward; investments have already begun to gravitate toward emerging markets, and the Philippines is among those countries that are increasingly being mentioned in this conversation,” he said.
He cited the study of Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC) that the Philippines will be the 16th largest economy in the world by 2050, and joked that by then, “as a very senior citizen of this country, I hope to be benefiting from an expanded social safety net.”
Mr. Aquino said his administration is bent on attaining inclusive economic growth, which “breeds stability” and is, therefore, “a shield against unrest.”
“It allows people to buy into the system, because they see that hard work pays off, and that their government is doing its very best to make sure that no one indeed gets left behind,” he said.
In response to questions in his open forum with the JFCP, Mr. Aquino said manufacturing is a priority of his administration, and the government is working on bringing down electricity rates by hastening “the open access to have the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market really fully functional.”
“Full open access is expected to happen by August of this year,” he said.
Energy Secretary Rene Almendras, who was with the President, said the schedule of the Department of Energy for full open access “is to have it by August with a little allowance for slippage.”
“The initiatives to get there is already ongoing. Private sector participation is very well under way. We are bidding out the infrastructure requirements, the software and the upgrading…. Yes, open access will happen this year and hopefully by August,” he said.
On the issue of feed-in tariff (FIT) rates, Almendras said “it should happen maybe soon.”
“There are ongoing discussions to bring all the parties together. Our democracy in the Philippines requires that everybody is listened to and engaged. And we are very close to a win-win solution and as I said it will happen soon. It will not happen next year, OK. Definitely not next year. It will happen a lot sooner that expected,” Almendras said.
Answering another question, Mr. Aquino said that when he goes to the United States toward the middle of the year, he will raise with President Obama the concern of Filipino-Americans who wish to retire in the Philippines, about the accreditation of more Philippine medical facilities by the US government.
“I will be having a visit with President Obama sometime, toward the middle of the year. You can count on my requesting him again for a consideration of accrediting more of our facilities,” he said.
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By: Mia M. Gonzalez
Source: Business Mirror, Jan. 26, 2012
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