Centrist Democracy Political Institute - Items filtered by date: October 2017
Thursday, 12 October 2017 09:53

One hell of a chief of staff

Part 3 – The Gatekeepers

 

Ronald Reagan and James Baker 3rd

 

VIEWED as one of the great post-war American Presidents, Ronald Reagan realigned US policies toward conservatism. His presidency saw the decline of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. It also saw the stint of the longest serving White House Chief of Staff (COS), James Baker 3rd. Theirs is the exemplar of a working relationship between a president and the primary alter ego. This is the last archetypical US president/chief of staff team (including those in the Part 1 and 2 of this series) that I will draw lessons from that could be applied in local presidential governance. (Most of these are extracted from Whipple’s book, and quotations are therefore attributed to the him.)

 

One important element in selecting the COS is his knowledge of how the center of power, Washington D.C., works. Baker was an ‘insider’ who had had extensive experience in the White House and Capitol Hill (US Senate and Congress), having been a bureaucrat, served in sub-cabinet and cabinet posts in various Republican administrations, and worked as a topnotch lawyer in the capital. Shunned by Reagan’s campaign staff from California, mostly “outsiders” from the Washington scene, Baker co-opted them by forming a ‘troika’ (with Edward Meese and Mike Deaver) serving the Oval Office, with him as the ‘first among equals’. The other members of the troika supervised the formulation of domestic policies, National Security Council and cabinet meetings while Baker had the handle on paperwork, speechwriting and WH staff. More importantly, he controlled information to and from the president and the execution of policies.

 

The Philippine context

 

As the COS position is non-existent in Malacañang,the Executive Secretary (ES) could be the primary gatekeeper. But there are similarities with US practices that are applicable to the local scene. For one, the COS/ES needs to be the dispenser of the president’s time, the most valuable asset in presidential governance. This works only if PRRD empowers his alter ego to assume that function. With the Deegong’s strong and rough personalityand degree of volatility, the COS/ES could find himself in constant stress-filled situations that could test their fragile bond of trust.

 

The problems confronting the Deegong could have been averted if his alter egos were the “face of the issues” responding to the public as first line of defense. The needless exposure of DU30 to political heat, even of his own making, had to be endured by the cabinet member concerned. The COS/ES responsibility is to distribute to the respective cabinet members their specific roles as political heat shields or lightning rods;deflecting from DU30 whatever fallout occurs. The COS/ES is the “bastonero,” one who enforces these sordid assignments.

 

“As an efficient conductor of political heat, these honorable secretaries must prevent damage or serious erosion to the political capital of the presidency.”(Lorenzana, The Manila Times, January 26, 2017)

 

A case in point is a critical one played by the spokesman of the presidentwho strives almost daily to scrub DU30’s rough edges with his own outer sheen; modulating presidential language in palatable bite sizes served to the public. But by doing so SecretaryAbella continues to expend his own meager political capital and credibility, absorbing heat directed at the president.He becomes the “face of the issue”and could be magnificently consumed by it.

 

In retrospect, the fallout from the “war on drugs” could have been managed by the justice system and police structure of the state. But the president overlaid by his ‘strongman persona’ couldn’t tame his mischievous side, giving in to the temptation of such pronouncements as “fattening the fish” with the carcasses of the drug lords and addicts. What many suspected to be campaign bluster crept into the deadly political conversation, one that transformed the concept and treatment of human rights with international complications. What could have been a legitimate war against “narco-politics” instead became a transgression against human dignity.

 

These concerns are attributable to the structural defects of the Office of the President on one hand, and PRRD himself, a singularly overwhelming presence, on the other. The COS/ES, if streamlined well could have alleviated the former; but the latter is exclusively the president’s to moderate.Under these circumstances, you need a COS/ES who can communicate matters to the president, whether he likes to hear them or not. He has to be “willing to speak the truth to power”.

 

The persona of the Deegong has been extensively discussed and analyzed. What has surfaced are the two aspects of the man and the president; two faces of the same coin. In private he is amiable and oftentimes soft-spoken, the proverbial “humble man carrying a big stick”. In our rare encounters, he was the fine “gentleman of the old school,” knowledgeable on a plethora of subjects. But the conversation always ends up with his bête noire, the drug menace, a recurring theme of his public pronouncements that borders on being monotonous, losing its effective message. But on center stage, an altogether different persona emerges, triggered perhaps by an adoring audience but constantly falling forthe baiting of a confrontational press. Clearly, he needs to read his speeches, curtail his media appearances to a minimum, and use more of his alter egos to carry the burden of the public face of governance.

 

As discussed in the previous articles, proximity and access to the presidency are paramount concerns for the COS/ES. He traffics who gets to see the president. The COS/ES has to be brutal in scheduling decisions and must enforce the same with discipline and order.

 

Tapestry of policy

 

Most problems in government are interconnected, none solely within the jurisdiction of one department.

 

Presidential decisions more often than not have implications that may involve the justice system, congressional liaisons and budget considerations, etc. The COS/ES’ job is to connect them, weaving disparate viewpoints into one whole tapestry of policy.

 

The spokesman and cabinet members must have priority access but as to the latter, the COS/ES and his staff must decide who adds value to a presidential face time, and the flow of papers need to be staffed out. (During Ramos’ time, we had his famous CSW, complete staff work).

 

It is in dealing with the cabinet members, a motley high-power group with their own fiefdoms and legitimate agenda to protect, when tensions arise. They can’t be permitted to unduly burden the president. Thus, the COS/ES and his staff must resolve disputes before they reach the president; be an “honest broker” and not inject his own personal agenda; and all must understand that the COS/ES office is where policy and politics converge.

 

After 15 months, PRRD has already paid his campaign debts with sinecures distributed around. “Historically, the people who got most presidents in trouble are their old pals from home.”(Whipple) It is high time DU30 changes gears and enhances his coterie of “true believers” with pragmatic political technocrats, to precipitate creative tension producing the kind of intellectual and political energy to get things done. And this should be personified by a new class of presidential operatives under the trusted COS/ES. As Whipple wrote in his book, quoting James Fallows: “…maybe that’s the strength of presidents like Ronald Reagan – who don’t think they’re the smartest person around”.

 

The most successful leaders“are those that are secure enough to surround themselves with extremely strong-willed, talented people”.
Published in LML Polettiques
Wednesday, 11 October 2017 16:45

More Taiwanese firms keen on expanding in PH

MANILA — More Taiwanese firms in the Philippines are keen on expanding their operations, following the launch of Taiwan’s new policy meant to strengthen its trade and economic ties with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

 

Gary Song-Huann Lin, Representative of Taiwan to the Philippines, said Taiwan’s New Kinpo Electronics Co. has already invested three huge factories here, employing more than 7,500 workers.

 

“Its fourth new plant is scheduled to open probably before the end of this year,” he bared during the 106th national day reception of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Monday night.

 

Lin said Taiwan has already established seven banks in Metro Manila, while Seven Eleven Group has expanded its branch stores to over 1,200.

 

He added many Taiwanese delegations so far have also visited the Philippines.
“We have seen a steady growth of Taiwanese investments and activities in the Philippines,” he noted.

 

Lin stressed that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy (NSP), which was launched last year, has contributed to regional development and forged closer socioeconomic and people-to-people exchanges with the ASEAN members, as well as South Asian countries, and Australia and New Zealand.

 

“The NSP is conducive to building closer regional linkages and a sense of economic community between Taiwan and the countries of Asia-Pacific region,” he said.

 

Aside from investments, Lin further said the NSP has resulted in a steady growth of bilateral partnership, resource sharing, talent cultivation, training on jobs, exchange of visits, and set up of various meetings and seminars. (PNA)
 
Published in News
MANILA–President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Tuesday, October 10, visited the largest ship of the Royal Australian Navy and reiterated full support to the Philippines’ allies.

 

The President was given a tour of the landing helicopter dock ship HMAS Adelaide anchored at the Port of Manila as part of the regional deployment by the Australian Defence Force to strengthen ties within the region.

 

In his remarks, President Duterte welcomed the officials and crew of the navy ship that is in its maiden deployment to Southeast Asia.

 

“I’d like to welcome you officially to the Philippines. And we’re happy that you found time to visit us,” he said.

 

The President discussed the ongoing tension in the Korean Peninsula.

 

“It’s good to raise our awareness actually now. And it would be also to our advantage if you just go around showing solidarity with the rest of the world. Not only because we face so many challenges and threats, but the small guy there in North Korea is playing with dangerous weapons,” he said.

 

President Duterte expressed hopes that the situation would not deteriorate into something violent that may destroy Southeast Asia.

 

“So I hope that in the coming days, we should stay together, especially the alliance between us, Philippines, America, and even China,” he said.

 

“It’s just a neighbor of China. And any distraction using nuclear bombs, nuclear arms, would destroy Southeast Asia immediately. And the Philippines is no exception,” he added.

 

The President then reiterated his support to Australia and to the Philippines’ allies.

 

“And that is why we reiterate our full support with our Australian friends, Americans, and even Chinese, Malaysian, all, to show to this one guy that he has to stop threatening the world. Because he runs the risk of being destroyed first,” he said.

 

Duterte told the crew of HMAS Adelaide that the Philippines is also suffering from a severe case of terrorism, citing the country’s battle against the Maute terrorist group in Marawi City.

 

“We’re coping up. We hope that it would be finished in about one week. We have suffered casualties, the biggest so far in present years. And I am sad that terrorism has arrived in my land,” he said.

 

“We are not against the Moro or the Muslim people. I myself have a little of — because of my grandmother, who was a Maranao Muslim. I don’t have anything against them, but it’s the terrorism that’s being imported,” he explained.

 

HMAS Adelaide, weighing 27,800 tonnes and 230 meters in length, is designed to provide medical and humanitarian assistance during regional emergencies with its 40-bed hospital that is complete with two operating theatres.

 

The ship’s 200-meter flight deck can carry up to 12 helicopters. It can accommodate more than 100 vehicles, 2,100 tonnes of cargo and can transport 1,000 military personnel and equipment for a rapid disaster response deployment.

 

The navy ship will also dock in Subic to continue the crew’s engagement with their Filipino counterparts.

 

More than 100 Philippine Armed Forces personnel, including the elite Philippine Marines, will participate in a sea-ride on Adelaide’s landing craft for a hands-on experience of the Australian Defence Force’s humanitarian and disaster relief capability.

 

The Australian Embassy noted Australia and the Philippines’ long-standing Defence Cooperation Program, which includes counter-terrorism, maritime security, and capability development assistance to the Armed Force of the Philippines. (PND)
Published in News
The Social Security System (SSS) is looking into providing unemployment insurance for its contributing members, according to its chairman, Amado Valdez, in an interview on Unang Balita on Tuesday.

 

"Pinag-aaralan namin ngayon 'yung unemployment insurance," Valdez said, adding they have sent a task force to Indonesia to meet with the International Labor Organization to study this possible addition to member benefits.

 

This insurance will ensure temporary financial security for a member should he or she suddenly become unemployed, he said.

 

"Kung paanong makapagbibigay tayo ng unemployment insurance, yung para bang bigla kang nawalan ng trabaho, at least for six months, madudugtungan yung sweldo mo. Hindi mapuputol yung stream ng income mo, makahanap ka ng trabaho, o mag-retraining ka," Valdez said.

 

This is one of the current undertakings of the SSS, the last option of which is to increase monthly contributions of its members, Valdez said.

 

He said they are intensifying their collection efforts and also looking into adjusting the salary base of their contributions.

 

"Tayong nasa SSS, kayo, 11 percent based on P16,000 lang. Yung mga tumatanggap ng P20,000, P25,000, P30,000, nagrereklamo sila, 'Bakit hindi nyo i-base dun sa actual na tinatanggap namin para malaki yung pension na tatanggapin namin,'" Valdez said.

 

He said this argument is reasonable, so they may prioritize it.

 

The anticipated contributions hike may not happen until next year, he added.

 

Valdez also denied speculations that SSS funds are nearing depletion.

 

"Hindi yan ang problema natin, Igan, kasi buwan-buwan naman nagko-contribute ang mga kababayan natin. Ang problema natin ngayon kung paano mapalaki yung pondo," he said, adding that he has found that the SSS could be used not only for social protection but also as "people's capital" that could be used for building infrastructure.

 

At this point in time, the SSS is on track to reaching its yearly target, Valdez said.

 

"Sa ngayon nakukuha naman natin yung koleksyon na kailangan para madugtungan natin yung...nagdagdag kasi tayo ng P1,000 eh, na pension. Nakukuha natin yun, at sumobra ng konti; in fact, ang increase ng koleksyon namin umabot ng 30 percent, Igan...for six months lang yun," he said.

 

Valdez also said the SSS is studying whether or not they could have the power to condone penalties for delinquent contributions to further speed up the collection process. —Nicole-Ann Lagrimas/KBK, GMA News
Published in News
MANILA — It is not yet the right time for the government to resume peace negotiations with rebel groups.

 

This was emphasized by AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Eduardo Año who noted that the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) intensified its harassments against civilian and military targets nationwide instead of convincing the government of their ardent desire to pursue peace negotiations.

 

The confidence building measure the AFP chief is referring is for the CPP-NPA to stop extortion and harassment tactics in the countryside.

 

“For now, the situation, I think is not conducive to have a peace negotiation instead of doing some confidence measures (or) actions, ang ginagawa nila lalo pa nilang pinag iigting yung pag atake (What they do is intensify the attacks.),” he added.

 

And should the rebels decide to stop these illegal actions, Año said the government is more than willing to resume the peace negotiations.

 

Yung condition lang naman natin at ng Presidente ay Number 1, stop nila ang extortion at saka yung burning and then ceasefire tayo and then we can talk (Our number one condition which is the same as that of the President is for them to stop their extortion and burning activities, then we can have a ceasefire and then we can talk.),” he added.

 

Peace talks with the rebel group were terminated last Feb. 4 following a series of unprovoked attacks against civilian and military targets nationwide. (Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)
Published in News
Malacañang on Sunday said the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines' (CBCP) pastoral letter highlighting the "terror" in President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs is "out of touch" with reality.

 

"The officials of the (CBCP) are apparently out of touch with the sentiments of the faithful who overwhelmingly support the changes in the Philippines - turning the nation into a safer place for families, working people, especially young night shift workers, far from the 'terror' the bishops paint rather dramatically," Presidential Spokesperson Sec. Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

 

In its pastoral letter out for pulpit reading in all Sunday Masses, the CBCP expressed concern for the lives of drug suspects and their families amid the government's war on drugs.

 

"An Additional cause of concern is the reign of terror in many places of the poor. Many are killed not because of drugs. Those who kill them are not brought to account. An even greater cause of concern is the indifference of many to this kind of wrong," the pastoral letter said.

 

The CBCP also called for the cooperation of the faithful in solving the drug problem and work for the successful rehabilitation of drug suspects.

 

The bishops added in the pastoral letter that "the Church will continue to speak against evil even as we acknowledge and repent of our own shortcomings."

 

"We will do this even if it will bring persecution upon us because we are all brothers and sisters responsible for each other. We will help drug addicts so that they may be healed and start a new life," the CBCP said.

 

Abella said instead of lambasting the government's war on drugs, CBCP should instead build the moral character of its faithful and contribute in peace-making of communities.

 

"The efforts of these Church leaders might be put to better use in practical catechetics that build strong moral character among the faithful, and so contribute more to the reign of peace felt by ordinary citizens everywhere, especially those who are innocent of illegal activities," Abella said.

 

Before the release of the pastoral letter, Duterte called the Catholic Church "full of shit" following several bishops' expression of criticism against his war on drugs. Joseph Tristan Roxas/ALG, GMA News
Published in News
Friday, 06 October 2017 11:34

Duterte forms body to probe corruption

 President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed on October 4 Executive Order (EO)No. 43 creating the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) toinvestigate graft and corruption against all presidential appointees in theExecutive Branch.



Created under the Office of the President, the PACC will be composed of aChairman and four Commissioners to be appointed by the President,the majority of whom must be Philippine Bar members and have beenpracticing law for at least five (5) years.



The PACC will also have a Secretariat, to be headed by an Executive Director, who will provide technical and administrative support to the Commission. The personnel of the Secretariat will be appointed by the PACC Chairman.



Further, the Commission may establish their operating units as may be necessary for the performance of its functions and implementation of this EO.

EO No. 43, likewise, outlined the PACC’s powers and functions.



The PACC has the power to hear and investigate administrative cases against all presidential appointees in the Executive Branch for acts or omissions constituting violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act or Republic Act (RA) No. 3019; RA No. 1379 on the unlawful acquisition of property by a public officer or employee; the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (RA No. 6713); provisions under Title 7, Book 2 of the Revised Penal Code involving crimes committed by public officers; EO No. 292 pertaining to the Administrative Code of 1987; and any rules and regulations duly enforced by competent authorities.



The PACC may also conduct lifestyle checks and fact-finding inquiries of all presidential appointees, including those outside the Executive Branch, and submit its reports and recommendations to the President.



Further, the Commission may investigate presidential appointees in the police and military upon instructions of the President.



“The resignation or retirement of the public officer under investigation shall not divest the Commission of jurisdiction to continue the investigation or hearing thereof,” the EO stated.



In the exercise of its functions, the PACC may engage the help of any law enforcement agency, call upon all government agencies for assistance and cooperation, or employ the services of qualified consultants from the public and private sectors.



Other functions of the PACC include the ability to recommend to the President the issuance of a preventive suspension order, power to administer oaths and issue subpoenas, and endorse vital witnesses into the Witness Protection Program.



“Whenever the Commission deems it warranted and necessary, it may refer any case for appropriate action to the Office of the Ombudsman, or deputize any other office, committee, commission, bureau, agency, department, or instrumentality, including government-owned or -controlled corporations, to conduct a fact-finding investigation,” EO No. 43 said.



Meanwhile, the investigative and recommendatory functions of the defunct Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC), which were assumed by the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs (ODESLA), will be transferred to the PACC once the members of the Commission and its Secretariat have been duly appointed. (PCOO Content)
Published in News
Thursday, 05 October 2017 08:24

A ruthless little bastard

Part 2 – The Gatekeepers
Gerald Ford and Donald Rumsfeld
FORD came into the presidency at the nadir of American global prestige. The US was losing the Vietnam war and Nixon resigned rather than be impeached due to the “Watergate Scandal”. An “accidental president,” Ford retained Nixon’s appointees. Gen. Al Haig, Nixon’s chief of staff who replaced Haldeman, continued in that capacity. This was a disaster in the making as Haig “acted as though he was president, and Ford his understudy”. Ford’s style of management added to this cauldron of complexity as he would govern with a mix of the old Nixon cabinet and some senior aides reporting to him directly—the spokes of the wheel—with him at the center. This free-for-all proved to be disastrous as cabinet members came in and out of the Oval Office with senior aides claiming access time.

 

It was not long before this configuration collapsed and the whole Oval Office along with it, when Ford, nine months into his presidency, pardoned the former President Nixon “for all offenses against the United States”. His popularity went on a freefall. His office was in disarray. Haig, the holdover, was ineffective as COS. Ford needed his own chief of staff.

 

Enter the “ruthless little bastard”. This was the description by Nixon of Donald ‘Rummy’ Rumsfeld, Ford’s handpicked COS and erstwhile Ford transition point man. Rummy was one of the more experienced and accomplished bureaucrats in the GOP (Republican Party) firmament. He was “known for his organizational skill and his ‘suffer-no-fools discipline’”(Whipple). He was a Washington insider and understood well the workings of the White House. His appreciation of his job was simple and succinct: “…governing without a chief is the quickest way (for the president) to lose credibility…once credibility (is lost), you can’t govern, so there has to be order, and…I would consider it my job to see that there was order” (Whipple).

 

The new COS moved in and begun cutting the heads of Ford’s old campaign staff who had sinecures at the White House. Haig was exiled with a new assignment away from Washington as NATO Supreme Commander based in Brussels. Two holdovers from Nixon’s cabinet with great reputation and even greater egos, Kissinger, Secretary of State and Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, were the only cabinet members permitted to see Ford alone.

 

Rummy with his deputy, Richard ‘Dick’ Cheney ran the Oval Office with discipline but it was not enough to arrest the slide of Ford’s popularity brought about by the Nixon pardon. He lost the presidency to Gov. Jimmy Carter, the “peanut farmer” from Georgia.

 

Jimmy Carter and Hamilton Jordan
The 39th President, Jimmy Carter, came into the White House as the “new kid” on the block. The obvious choice for his COS was Jack Watson, a Washington D.C. insider who could “reach out to the doyennes of Georgetown and mandarins of Foggy Bottom and Capitol Hill”(Whipple). But in the struggle between the presidential transition team headed by Watson and Carter’s campaign staff, all from Georgia, the latter won, with the “primus inter pares” Hamilton Jordan, becoming Carter’s first COS. The architect of Carter’s winning strategy, he was brilliant in catapulting Carter from the “peanut-farmer governor” to the Oval Office. But he was way over his head as COS. He and his team took over the Oval Office “in profound ignorance of their jobs”. His personal life was tattered by scandal (the ‘amaretto and cream’ incident where he spits this drink at a young woman in a bar). The Oval Office was run like a campaign HQ allowing advisers and cabinet members equal access to Carter. The end for Jordan as COS came a few months after the infamous siege on the American embassy in Tehran, Iran, where 66 hostages were seized and kept for 444 days – up to the time Carter lost to Ronald Reagan, in the election of 1980.

 

The Philippine context
Malacañang does not have the classic American concept of chief of staff (COS). The closest to the office could perhaps be the Executive Secretary, the highest-ranking official in the Office of the President.

 

Both Philippine ES and American COS claim pre-eminence in the hierarchy of their respective executive offices. This is based on a political reality: access to the president. It imbues the person who occupies the office with a fragment of that imperium exclusive only to the presidency.

 

In our political life, especially in the highest echelons of governance, power is the main currency; and the president has copious amounts of it to dispense, but frugally. The ES/COS must see to it that it is done so.

 

This is why in the Philippines the Executive Secretary is known as the “little president”. By definition, his mandate is “to directly assist the President in the management of affairs of the government as well as to direct the operations of the Executive Office”. But the reality on the ground seems to be different. Titles and mandates are of little consequence to the Deegong.

 

From the beginning of his term, the President has apparently been acting as his own chief of staff with his Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher ‘Bong’ Go, ever constantly at his beck and call, seldom leaving his side. If as the saying goes, “access to the presidency is power itself,” Bong Go could be the most powerful bureaucrat in government. But, with the propensity of the populist president to be accessible to all, and Go’s own admission that he receives from 500 to 1,000 texts daily and numerous calls, he could be the most harassed bureaucrat in government. We doubt that the SAP has the time or the inclination to pre-process policies that need DU30’s attention—a prime duty of a COS.

 

An internal mechanism may have been arrived at that includes the ES, ‘Bingbong’ Medialdea as the chiefpraetorian that guards the portals to the presidency.

 

The Deegong has been described as an alpha male, a superb local politician, trustful only of old friends, classmates and a coterie of bureaucrats in the uniformed services. He tends to dominate and intimidate. This is the nature of the beast, and perhaps these are the alter egos he is comfortable with in running this government. Or perhaps, the models described by Whipple in his book may not work in the Philippine context. The Deegong may not need to hire his own bastard. He already is one!

 

But this government could collapse given that the greater burden of responsibilities lie almost solely on the shoulder of this “73-year old millennial” passionately driven to offer the coming generations of Filipinos a shot at a better future by being the chief architect of a systemic and structural change.

 

And with all his magnificent faults and scarce virtues, this is the type of leader that this country needs today. His 80 percent approval rating is his constituents’ imprimatur.

 

(Next week: Part 3 – “One hell of a chief of staff”: Ronald Reagan and James Baker III; lessons from the gatekeepers that are universally applicable)
Published in LML Polettiques
SHANGHAI—Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has cited the government’s continuing efforts to open the economy to foreign participation, the country’s political stability and its young, dynamic workforce as among the key factors that would make the Philippines far more attractive to foreign investors.

 

Dominguez said the Duterte administration’s unprecedented spending on infrastructure to enable the Philippines to catch up with its Southeast Asian neighbors would also encourage more foreign investors to infuse fresh capital into the country.

 

Among these factors, the government is also currently reviewing its Foreign Investment Negative List (FINL) to increase the number of areas for 100 percent foreign participation, Dominguez said at a briefing on the Philippine economy here when asked what would make the country more attractive to Chinese investors.

 

“We have stable policies, we honor our contracts, and we have a young, growing population getting richer and very hardworking,” said Dominguez before Chinese business leaders at the forum organized by the Bank of China.

 

“There are many opportunities in the Philippines for a partnership with Chinese technology, Chinese know-how, some capital from Chinese enterprises, and we welcome joint ventures and investments from abroad,” Dominguez said.

 

Dominguez has consistently cited the Philippines as being in a “demographic sweet spot,” in which millions of young, smart, hardworking Filipinos are about to enter the global workforce at a time when the populations of some of the mature economies in Asia begin to age.

 

As for the FINL, Dominguez has said in earlier forums that he favors lifting the foreign ownership limits for certain sectors of the economy to generate more foreign investments, except for land.

 

The other Philippine government officials with Dominguez at the Philippine economic briefing were Secretaries Ernesto Pernia of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Benjamin Diokno of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr.

 

Pernia, for his part, said during the forum that “the Philippines has become an amazing investment destination,” while Diokno said investors are most welcome in “the fastest growing country in the fastest-growing region in the world.”

 

Espenilla, meanwhile, cited the country’s financial stability characterized by its low inflation and low-interest rate environment.

 

Dominguez also said the Philippines plans to “test the debt market” in China by issuing renminbi-denominated Panda bonds by around November this year.

 

“We are very happy that the Bank of China has come to our assistance. It’s a small issue—the first baby step we are issuing—a $200 million bond by around November of this year. This will be the first of many in the future,” Dominguez told Chinese businessmen at the forum.

 

The economic team proceeded here after meeting with Chinese commerce ministry officials in Beijing to, among others, hold a “non-deal” roadshow for the Philippines’ planned Panda bond issue.

 

The Philippine government is currently in the process of securing the necessary approvals and fulfilling the requirements to tap China’s bond market—largest among Asia’s emerging economies.’

 

Earlier, Dominguez assured China of the Philippines’ full cooperation with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Belt and Road program, both of which, he said, will “bring lasting benefits to all countries of this region” as these “will set the conditions for more comprehensive trade” in this part of the world.

 

Dominguez has also thanked China for its generosity in supporting the Duterte administration’s ambitious infrastructure modernization program, noting that “over the past few years, we have developed numerous bilateral mechanisms that will allow closer coordination between our two countries across a broad range of issues and concerns.”

 

Given the “great strides” that have been achieved towards building a common market among the Philippines and the other member-economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which will create a large enough market to make their industries achieve economies of scale, Dominguez said the Philippine economy can “perform as a gateway to a very large and increasingly prosperous Southeast Asian regional market.”

 

Dominguez also said he believes the comprehensive cooperation between the Philippines in China, while currently only in its early stages, will “function as a driver of growth in the region” over the next decade. (DOF)
Published in News
Tuesday, 03 October 2017 11:39

CHA-CHA EXPRESS GATHERING STEAM

Political popularity gives heft to machinery. Impatient with the Palace’s pace, House leaders have seized the initiative to make a constituent assembly (Con-ass) possible soon. Proposals are getting clearer, with a Palace-sponsored proposal, a party plan, bills for scheduling and a draft Constitution on the table. Two of these proposals converge on harnessing President Duterte’s popularity to accomplish the transition to a new system.
Published in News
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