Marcos appoints son of so-called ‘pinklawan’
President Marcos is walking his talk for unity when he appointed a son of known Marcos critic randy david as undersecretary of the department of environment and Natural resources. a geologist, Carlos Primo Constantino david’s appointment was made last december but was announced only recently upon his arrival from a successful trip to Japan where he served as witness to various investments that Japanese companies are funneling into the country.
The appointment of a member of a family known for their acerbic write-ups on the Marcoses just goes to show that President Marcos means what he says when, upon garnering a landslide win, he offered his hand for a united take on the country’s future given the wreckage brought about by the pandemic that saw many businesses either close shop, face massive losses and see debts rise, and resulted in many people losing their employment.
That statesmanlike gesture comes at a critical juncture in our history, what with the massive debt that the country incurred due to the pandemic, more than P13 trillion, that would need a joint effort from all fronts so that the economy can again hum back and bring with it a medium-income status for the Philippines. In a way, the reopening of the economy has seen foot traffic to malls nearing pre-pandemic levels, which would augur well for the citizens.
The appointment cements Marcos’s legacy as it shows that his plaintive plea for unity is backed up by his desire to see through a progressive Philippines. We understand that even a new department secretary was appointed to an important economic post even when the President was told that his wife was photographed holding a photo placard of another aspiring presidential contender. Told about it, the President said he does not mind, and forthwith issued the appointment.
With a united front, the President can look forward to more visits to other developed economies that will bring home the bacon for the country, just like in the case of his five-day state visit to Japan where he renewed the country’s economic ties and saw through the signing of several business partnerships that would mean more jobs, more revenues and more dollars with which to pay the debts incurred during the pandemic.
It is noteworthy that the country got over $13 billion or P708 billion investment pledges from his official visit to Japan. About 240 Philippine companies and 1,300 Japanese firms, composed of 3,472 business leaders, registered for the meetings held during Marcos’ historic Tokyo visit. From out of these meetings, there were at least 30 business deals forged.
These deals are estimated to create some 24,000 new jobs for Filipinos, helping not only the country’s growth but also see through a recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. “Coming back, we have carried with us over $13 billion in contributions and pledges to benefit our people and create approximately 24,000 jobs and further solidify our economic environment,” Marcos said upon his arrival at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City.
In a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, both sides have committed to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan, including closer security ties with Tokyo over concerns about aggressive Chinese actions in the region.
Marcos and Kishida penned a deal to allow their armed forces to work together during disaster relief, an agreement seen as a step towards a broader pact that could allow the countries to deploy forces on each other’s soil, similar to the Visiting Forces Agreement the Philippines has with the US, which would boost maritime security and ensure greater protection for Filipino fishermen.
Japanese firms expressed strong interest in expanding operations in the Philippines during Marcos’s first official visit to Japan. The prospective deals include projects in clean and renewable energy, highly skilled manufacturing, infrastructure development, retail, healthcare, transportation, agriculture and digital transformation.
During his trip, Marcos held meetings with Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation, Toyota Motors Corp., Mitsumi Inc., Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd., and Marubeni Corp., among others, and he was able to swing ODA support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which expressed its funding support to address the wide-ranging development needs of the country, especially in infrastructure.