Duterte envisions a better future for the poor

On the second day of the APEC CEO Summit in Danang, Vietnam, Filipino business man Tomas Alcantara had the honor to introduce President of the Philippines before he gave his speech. President Rodrigo Duterte gave a keynote speech that provided clarity and insight to the Asian CEO’s on the situation of the developing Asian countries and their struggle to compete in the global market. This keynote speech was also Duterte’s first public function.

“Globalization to a certain extent has really damaged poor economies…. [T]he rich would become richer and the poor would become poorer unless things are changed for those who are left behind,” Duterte said in his speech.

The damage caused by globalization can be best understood by the example that the president gave, “…the best of our young … tend to go to the places where the economy is thriving,” referring to the Overseas Filipino Workers who remit billions of dollars back to the country each year.

And when US President Donald Trump complained about globalization hurting the US workers in the sense that American companies outsource manufacturing jobs to China due to its cheap labor. Duterte acknowledged Trump’s complains and sympathized him.

“America was the first victim of globalization and that is why Trump is trying to lure [American Companies] back and said ‘America First’,” Duterte said.

The president then insisted that micro, small and medium enterprises should be a part in the “inclusive business model” of such well-off businesses. He explained that true cooperation is defined by everyone being partners, with everyone contributing. And that “Charity is not what less developed economies and small businesses need.”

Providing assistance to MSME’s in order for them to fully develop was the remedy that Duterte mentioned.

The president then said to the Asian CEO’s that, “Unless we adopt this mindset, inclusive growth will continue to elude us.”

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Source: Inquirer