PH, US businesses announce potential partnerships in 5 sectors

Filipino and American business leaders yesterday announced initiatives to explore partnership opportunities in telecom construction, energy, agriculture and airplane parts as they called for greater engagement between the US and Philippines.

This developed as the US-Philippines Society held their three-day meetings here, including their sixth board meeting, the Philippines-US Trade and Investment Forum and audience with President Duterte in Malacañang, and other government officials, and networking activities.

Businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan, co-chair of the US Philippines Society, said they had quite good meeting and managed to tackle very specific issues of items that affect US Philippine relations, including trade and investments.

“I think that there is really need for the Philippines to really to expand its contacts with American companies,” Pangilinan said even as he noted that like his company PLDT, which is engaged in the telecoms sector, they can network with American firms where some of them are members of the Board of the USPS. By widening their contacts, not just telecoms but power plant’s equipment, they would be exposed on the latest trends that affect their business.

“We need to promote better visibility of companies here, especially with the implementation of, the government’s Build, Build, Build infrastructure program.”

According to Pangilinan, the group’s identification of partnership opportunities in telecom, construction, energy, agriculture and airplane parts “reflect what the economy needs for capital equipment that it has no capability of producing on its own.”

He cited the strength of new technologies in power industry, the shift to e-vehicles from fossil-fuel cars and now the autonomous vehicles, among other technology requirements the country is facing.

He said this is just to mirror what kind of relations and investments the Philippines and the US need.

The US remains the Philippines third largest trade partner with two-way trade in 2017 reaching $8 billion. Of this figure, the Philippines exports $4.5 billion worth of products to the US from $3.4 billion in 2016.

Former US Ambassador to the Philippines John Negroponte, who is also cochair of the US-Philippine Society, said that every time they hold board meeting and even on this sixth year of existence the fundamental message is “We believe our relations is alive and well.” He cited both countries as allies with shared history that goes back a long long way.

“We want to build on that strong tradition,” he said.

When asked to comment on the Philippines’ pivot to China, Negroponte dismissed the insinuation of exclusivity in relations among countries stressing “there is nothing exclusive with having good relations with one and having good relations with another at the same time.” He added there are 182 countries and even the US takes its relationship with China seriously where it has a huge $500 billion worth of trade.

“That is just a reality all of us should accept,” he said noting that one cannot choose its neighbors so it behooves on both sides to build on that friendship to the best of ability.

USPS President Join F. Maisto also noted that the Society is also giving focusing on Mindanao and Marawi rehabilitation. The group has also passed a resolution supporting the Philippines request for the return of the Balangiga bell to their rightful owner in a parish in the town of Balangiga, Samar.