P6.2-B yield eyed from Marcos Jr.’s trip

Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. AFP FILE PHOTO

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is expected to bring home at least P6.2 billion in investment pledges from his trip to Brussels, Belgium, on Dec. 12 to Dec. 14.

In a predeparture briefing, Daniel Espiritu, foreign assistant secretary for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Affairs, said the President would have a meeting with key European corporations and businessmen.

Mr. Marcos is scheduled to attend the Asean-European Commemorative Summit. He is leaving Manila on Sunday night.

Espiritu said Mr. Marcos would be meeting with Unilever, the British multinational company, to establish a new state of the art manufacturing facility for personal care products in Cavite province, to the tune of P4.7 billion.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said the investment was seen to generate 130 new jobs in the country.

Mr. Marcos is also scheduled to have a meeting with OCEA, a shipbuilding and navigation and logistics company, which intends to develop a shipyard with an investment of P1.5 billion.

The new investment was expected to create 500 to 600 direct and indirect jobs in the country, according to Espiritu.

Espiritu said Acciona, an infrastructure and renewable energy company, also wanted to invest in the renewable energy sector in the Philippines.

He added that Semmaris, a wholesale market and international logistics hub, was also eyeing to develop an agro-logistics at the New Clark City that would build and operate a wholesale market for fresh products.

“So, these are only among the few companies that the President will talk to, which we believe will expand investments in the Philippines and therefore generate more jobs,” he said.

10 bilateral meetings

Espiritu said the President was scheduled to hold about 10 bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Asean-EU summit, which includes Spain, Denmark, Germany and Czech Republic.

He said the President would also meet with the King of Belgium as Manila and Brussels marked their 76th year of diplomatic relations this year.

“And at the same time, this intends to expand cooperation between this country, our country, and Belgium in terms of agricultural cooperation and renewable energy,” he said.

Mr. Marcos will also meet with the Filipino community in Brussels.

The DFA said there were about 5,600 Filipino professionals in Belgium.

During his meeting with the EU, Espiritu said Mr. Marcos would also raise the issue of Filipino seafarers who are at risk of losing their jobs in EU vessels.

“I don’t have the details but that’s one of the matters that will be discussed so that it will be addressed,” he said.

Early this year, the EU flagged the Philippines for deficiencies in local seafarer training and education.

In his several meetings during the summit, Mr. Marcos will “carry all our priorities and concerns,” Espiritu said.

He said the President would raise the issue on climate change, international and regional developments, which includes discussions on the South China Sea, the Ukraine issue and other developments around the world.

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