MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is parading the Philippines’ “success story” in his meetings with global business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, said House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
Romualdez on Wednesday said that Marcos, in his bid to round up foreign investments to the country, is “doing a yeoman’s job” at the Davos meet.
“[The] President was able to clearly convey his strategy for sustained growth and the peculiar advantages of the Philippines that would engender investor confidence in the realization of such objective,” he said in a statement.
Romualdez, who is part of the President’s official delegation to Davos, said Marcos “is hard at work, seizing all the opportunities the WEF presented to tell the Philippine success story to the world’s leaders in business and government attending the forum.”
WEF President Borge Brende, according to Romualdez, even acknowledged Marcos’ efforts “to showcase the Philippines’ remarkable story and outline the path his administration is taking to welcome more foreign investments into our country.”
The WEF has hailed the “incredible” economic performance of the Philippines amid the slowdown in most parts of the world.
Marcos said the Philippines could grow by seven percent this year – the fastest pace in Southeast Asia at a time when the global economy is widely expected to head into recession.
He touted the country’s development plan, which draws up a strategy to fastrack economic and social recovery toward inclusive and resilient development.
Marcos flew to Davos as Philippine inflation leaped to a 14-year high at 8.1 percent which, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, was mainly driven by the increasing prices of goods.
But Marcos has since expressed belief that the Philippine inflation will decline for the rest of the year.
The President, who is concurrent chief of the agriculture department, said the soaring cost of agricultural products in the country can be addressed if rampant smuggling is addressed and if local production is improved.