When asked about concerns on the number of delegates sent to the forum, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said,”Well, the delegation was large, but half of it was private. They came here on their own. They stayed in their own places. They made their own arrangements, although they are technically part of the delegation.”
ZURICH, Switzerland — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he has accomplished his mission at the World Economic Forum annual meeting, while shrugging off criticisms about sending a large delegation to the week-long event held at the upscale ski resort town of Davos.
“We are satisfied that we were able to do most, if not all that we wanted to do while we were here,” Marcos said in an address to about 700 members of the Filipino-Swiss community at the Hyatt hotel on Friday afternoon.
In a press briefing right after the meeting with the community, Marcos said, “They keep saying that we have to position ourselves properly for the new global economy… That’s what we are doing now.”
When asked about concerns on the number of delegates sent to the forum, Marcos said,”Well, the delegation was large, but half of it was private. They came here on their own. They stayed in their own places. They made their own arrangements, although they are technically part of the delegation.”
“So the delegation essentially just consists of the cabinet secretaries, myself, the speaker (Martin Romualdez) and of course the staff that support them. …Nakita naman niyo ‘yung eroplano, walang laman halos (it is almost empty). We didn’t fill it up. We don’t have that many people — that the government is paying for.”
In reference to the chartered flight, PR001 that brought the delegation to and from Davos, Mr. Marcos said it would have cost the same anyway.
“So doesn’t make any difference kung how many people came on (board),” he said.
“And we try to be complete. When is the next chance we will get to speak to CEOs of top Fortune 100 companies in the period of two days? So whoever we get to talk to kailangan nandoon ‘yung secretary na pwede niyang sagutin, pwede niyang kausapin. (The secretary in charge must be there to answer the queries and discuss it.”
Some solons also came to Davos because the Philippine team wanted to present members of the legislature to discuss policy changes in thew country.
“(It’s) because legislation is an important part of what we are doing. So there’s always a legislator. And in the case of former president GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, we’re lucky to have her onboard,” he added.
The official delegation consisted of 18 people including the president and the first lady, based on a list issued by the Palace when the delegation arrived in Davos.