What a difference a quarter century makes!
This week I visited Manila for the first time after a 25-year
gap. My previous visit was as a tourist. This time I was here as the British
Government’s Minister responsible for relations with South-East Asia.
Twenty-five years ago, the
Philippines was just emerging from years of dictatorship. The evidence of
mis-management and hasty departure was all too evident when I was shown round
Malacañang Palace. There was optimism about the prospects for democracy, but
also trepidation about the future.
What a difference a quarter century makes!
When I called on President Benigno Aquino III at the Palace, the mood of
optimism was unmistakable. And the same was true all over Metro Manila, above
all in meetings with both Filipino and British business leaders.
The bullishness is not without
reason. Growth forecasts of 6%, international credit ratings edging towards
investment grade, the Stock Exchange heading towards the 6,000 mark, and a
budget deficit of 3% of GDP: these are all reasons for the Philippines to feel
confident. And just before I arrived, the latest Transparency International
survey showed that the anti-corruption agenda is making progress.
Of course, Typhoon Pablo was very
tragic news. There is an urgent need to get behind rescue efforts in Mindanao.
That’s why, in response, I have pledged P22.2 million (or $500,000) on behalf of
the British Government to the UN’s emergency humanitarian assistance fund.
The good news about the
Philippines is increasingly well understood in the UK. Our biggest British
companies have long been doing business here: banks like Standard Chartered and
HSBC have been here since the 19th century. Shell provides the natural gas that
keeps the lights on in Manila. GSK provide vaccines and medicines to keep a
growing population healthy. De La Rue print banknotes that flow through the
veins of the economy. But it’s not just the blue-chips that are interested. The
week before my visit, a delegation of innovative British SMEs from the ICT and
built environment sectors were here to investigate opportunities in urban
development and planning; next month a renewable energy mission will be here to
investigate how they can contribute to the green economy.
As for those
stock-market highs: more portfolio investment comes into the Philippines from
the City of London than from any other financial centre.
Like my
Prime Minister David Cameron, I firmly believe that business not government
drives a healthy economy. So I’ll personally be encouraging more British
businesses, big and small, to look at the Philippines.
But of course government creates
the context in which business thrives. That’s why I was delighted to meet
government leaders who are taking forward economic reform and development
including Secretaries Purisima and Abaya, and Secretary del Rosario who is
making economic diplomacy a key pillar of Philippine foreign policy. I was able
to discuss our co-operation in the Mindanao peace process. Peace in southern
Philippines will in my view transform international perceptions of the
Philippines, not least among businesses. As a former Minister of State for
Northern Ireland, I was really pleased that I was able to coincide my visit with
that of a delegation from there, who were in Manila to share experiences of
police reform which might just prove useful in Mindanao.
This year, the British Government
has signaled its commitment to a closer relationship with ASEAN, and a closer
relationship with the Philippines is central to that agenda. Before Manila I was
in Brunei, and as you open your papers this morning in Manila, I expect to be in
Burma.
Twenty-five years ago, the Filipino people were engaged in rebuilding
democracy. Today, the Burmese people are doing the same. As they do so, they
should take heart in what the Philippines has achieved over the past quarter
century. President Cory Aquino led the resurgence of democracy; now President
Benigno Aquino is working with the private sector to ensure a resurgent economy.
This really is a great time to be in South-East Asia, and a great time to be in
the Philippines.
(Hugo Swire is UK Minister of
State and Member of Parliament. Stephen Lillie will return next
week.)
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