PH in for change after Apec hosting—INQUIRER.net readers

A week after the Philippines hosted the 2015 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Economic Leaders’ Meeting, INQUIRER.net readers expressed optimism that the meeting will bring change in the country.

More than 20,000 respondents answered the poll which asked the question: “APEC in PH: Is it worth it?”

The voting trend in the survey from Monday, November 16 until its last day on Tuesday, November 24 showed that majority of the respondents believe that the country is in a “driver’s seat for change” due to Apec.

The number of respondents who saw that the Philippines will reap benefits from its Apec hosting was 10,565, more than double the number of those who said that holding the high-level meeting in the country was not worth it.

Furthermore, some 2,559 people believe that hosting the Apec was worth it because the Philippines will be able to recoup the P10 billion which the government earmarked for the event.

Meanwhile, some 4,513 people said that the inconvenience brought by the Apec was not worth the presumed benefits that may be gained from the country’s hosting of the event which was held in the capital region.

It can be recalled that roads and airports were shut down during the week-long Apec summit which greatly inconvenienced Filipinos. Thousands of workers endured walking four kilometers from Coastal Road to Roxas Boulevard just to get to work last Monday after the said road was closed for the Apec summit.

READ: Thousands walked 4 kilometers to work, in over an hour, due to APEC road closure

In Edsa, special Apec lanes worsened the already horrific traffic situation at the metro’s main thoroughfare.

A week after the Philippines hosted the 2015 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Economic Leaders’ Meeting, INQUIRER.net readers are optimistic that the meeting will bring change in the country. INQUIRER.net PHOTO

Although some assailed the Apec for inconveniencing residents, some 1,618 respondents said that holding the Apec in the country was not worth it because the Philippines only has a “token role” as “big economies still call the shots.”

On the other hand, some 769 people said that it is too early to give a verdict on whether the Apec hosting was beneficial to the country or not.

The Philippines welcomed more than 10,000 delegates for the Apec. In his speech marking the conclusion of the Apec Economic Leaders Meeting, President Benigno Aquino III thanked Filipinos for being gracious hosts, adding that “good things come from hard work.”

“I am grateful to our countrymen who have expressed their support for our hosting. I believe that most of our people understand the concept that good things come from hard work and sacrifice,” he said.

One of the fruits immediately reaped by the Philippines by hosting the Apec was forging an agreement between Manila and Tokyo on hiring of Filipino domestic workers in Japan’s Kanagawa and Osaka Prefectures.

READ: Apec fruit: More jobs for Filipinos

The poll, which was answered by an estimated 20,024 people, ran for eight days on the site’s home page.

The INQUIRER.net poll is not a scientific survey. It is an interactivity tool that can, within its limits, reflect the interests of online readers. RAM