USPS: With anti-corruption drive, PH sends potent message
The Aquino administration’s anti-corruption drive has raised the Philippines’ profile in the international community, with conditions now ripe for stronger economic ties between the country and the United States.
At a press briefing on Thursday, the United States Philippine Society (USPS), a private organization composed of American and Filipino diplomats and private-sector executives, said new investment opportunities in the country had opened up due to efforts to clean up the government.
“The basic message of fighting corruption is a very powerful one. Combined with economic growth, it makes for a very powerful combination message that calls new attention to the Philippines,” USPS president John Maisto told reporters.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the Philippines to grow by 6 percent this year—better than the 4.8 percent it announced last October.
Maisto was speaking at a press conference during the second day of a three-day mission to the Philippines, which featured a dialogue with President Aquino on Wednesday and a courtesy call with Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno on Thursday.
“The group comes away with a positive perception… this builds on the relationship between the Philippines and the US that has existed through generations,” Maisto said.
During the dialogue earlier this week, USPS members quizzed President Aquino on the reforms that were being implemented and the challenges that the country continued to face.
USPS members include Stuart Dean, General Electric Co.’s president for Southeast Asia; Therese Esperdy, managing director and head of global debt and capital markets at US bank J.P. Morgan; and Henry Howard, president and CEO of US Education Finance Management Corp.
“The President talked about reforms in the fields of education, healthcare and governance. He was also very frank about the challenges that we continue to face. The biggest challenge is poverty incidence. He wants to bring it down. It will take more effort on the part of the government to alleviate poverty,” said Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr., who helped organize the USPS visit.
Other problems faced by potential investors in the Philippines were infrastructure bottlenecks, caused mainly by years of neglect by previous administrations and delays faced by current projects, as well as the high cost of power in the country.
In the meantime, USPS members said they were encouraged by the government’s move to seek United Nations arbitration regarding the territorial dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea. They said this would minimize the chance of any military action over the disputed territories.
“The main message I take is it seeks to resolve this issue by peaceful means. This is consistent with the line the US government has been advocating in recent years. We’ve always maintained that this should be settled peacefully through dialogue rather than through conflict,” said former US Ambassador to the Philippines John Negroponte, co-chairman of the USPS.
