INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang kept crunching the numbers to cite the benefits of the 19 foreign trips President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has so far made since assuming office in mid-2022, following reports that his travel budget next year will amount to P1.4 billion, or 58 percent more than the 2023 allocation.
In a statement, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Wednesday said the President not only brought home billions of pesos worth of investment pledges but also created some 200,000 job opportunities thanks to those trips.
Citing figures from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the PCO said that in 2022 there were 7,100 job opportunities generated from Marcos’ trip to Indonesia (Sept 4 to Sept. 6); 14,932 from Singapore (Sept. 6 to Sept. 7); and about 98,000 from New York ( (Sept. 18 to Sept. 24).
The PCO said around 5,500 job opportunities came about as a result of his visit to Thailand (Nov. 16 to Nov. 19); 6,480 from the trip to Belgium (Dec. 11 to Dec. 14); and another 730 from a DTI investment mission to the Netherlands (Dec. 15 to Dec. 17) following the Belgium trip.
This year, the president’s visit to China (Jan. 3 to Jan. 5) resulted in 32,722 jobs; 24,000 job opportunities can be traced to his visit to Japan (Feb. 8 to Feb. 12); 6,386 more to his trip to Washington (April 30 to May 4); and 8,365 from his Malaysia trip (July 25 to July 27).
The president’s second visit to Singapore (Sept. to Sept. 17) this year generated 450 job opportunities; his second trip to the United States (Nov. 14 to Nov. 17) led to 2,550 jobs; and his second trip to Japan (Dec. 15 to Dec. 18) yielded 15,750.
Quoting the Bureau of Investments (BOI), the PCO said that in 2023 alone the President’s overseas trips reaped P1.16 trillion in investment approvals, the highest in the last five decades.
Top 5 recipients
The P1.16-trillion investment approvals translate to 303 projects that are expected to generate more than 47,000 jobs, particularly in renewable energy, information and communications technology (ICT), real estate, manufacturing and infrastructure, it added.
Germany emerged as the main source of foreign investment (P393.28 billion), followed by the Netherlands (P333.61 billion); Singapore (P17.38 billion), and the United States (P3.38 billion).
By region, Western Visayas received the most investments at P316.89 billion, with Calabarzon coming in second at P211.89 billion.
Completing the top five recipients are Bicol, P162.92 billion; Eastern Visayas, P128.62 billion; and Ilocos, P122.18 billion. The renewable energy and power industry sectors continue to dominate the Philippine investment approvals scene, with investments totaling P968.14 billion. This amount translates to 137 percent growth over the previous year’s record of P409.03 billion.
From January to December, seven offshore wind power projects totaling P759.84 billion were authorized in Cavite, Laguna; Dagupan; San Miguel Bay, Camarines Norte; Negros; and Northern Samar, the PCO also reported.
The ICT industry’s authorized investments reached P96.16 billion, followed by manufacturing, P22.03 billion, infrastructure (toll roads), P20 billion; and real estate activities, particularly mass housing, which obtained investments of P15.63 billion.
‘Actualized’
Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo said there were three more projects worth about P350 billion that are currently being assessed. They will be included in the BOI board and management committee deliberations on Friday if found compliant with the substantive and transparency requirements.
On Tuesday, the PCO said the President’s foreign trips resulted in nearly P300 billion worth of “actualized” investments as of Dec. 21 that can be broken down as follows: $4.089 billion (P227.72 billion) for eight projects; $790.58 million (P44.02 billion) for 11 projects; and, $398.17 million (P22.17 billion) for nine projects.
It quoted Rodolfo as saying: “Some of these projects have short gestation periods and are already fully operational and are already employing full-time Filipinos, producing goods or delivering services.
“And some are already setting up or expanding their facilities — but are nevertheless already employing Filipinos as they already have set up or expanded their offices and physical presence in the Philippines.”