The other side of Duterte
INVITED to speak to a group of foreign businessmen on a Philippines led by President Rodrigo Duterte and what it means for potential investors like them, I hesitated to accept. Having served with President Fidel V. Ramos as vice chairman and managing head of the Board of Investments (BOI) and earlier as a BOI governor during the term of President Corazon Aquino, I had found it relatively easy to persuade foreign executives to place their “bet on the Philippines.”
President Ramos early in his term showed that he could get things done and in his sorties in the countryside exhorted the Filipino people to be united and to care, share, and dare. His speeches were always inspirational and you could feel not just hear the enthusiasm of his audience as they replied to his challenge, “Kaya ba? (Can we do it?).” In their loud and stirring voices, they yelled, “Kayang-kaya (Yes, we can!).”
President Corazon Aquino was the icon of Philippine democracy and EDSA ushered in great hope and expectations not only in the Filipino people but also in the foreign business community. The respect and goodwill generated by her self-sacrifice was enough to attract droves of investors. All I had to assure them was that the motley team formed right after EDSA would be able to work well together. Fortunately after sometime the kinks in the Cabinet were smoothened.
In the case of President Duterte, the task to invite foreign investors was both challenging and daunting. Foreign businessmen were only familiar with his expletives-laden speeches, his tirades against the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations and some of the their leaders, his perceived fixation on the drug eradication campaign with the alleged human rights violations and his assault on “selected businessmen.” But I am a Filipino and anything I can do to help the country, I will.
I researched on his speeches during the campaign and after his inauguration and discovered a goldmine of positive statements. I could rely on them because as many know by now, President Duterte will stand by what he says. These are what I shared with the foreign investors.
President Duterte clearly stated his objective, “At the end of my term, we hope to have a stronger economy, characterized by growth and strong dollar reserves.” His biases are obvious, “For what good will prosperity be if its benefits do not trickle down to the poorest of the poor. Let us bear in mind that the test of good government is not whether we can add to the abundance of those who have so much but whether we can provide for those who have so little.”