Marcos: P3.9 trillion in investment pledges secured from foreign trips

In his second State of the Nation Address on Monday, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos said P3.9 trillion in investment pledges were secured from the foreign trips.

Marcos said these pledges could result in at least 175,000 jobs for Filipinos.

"We have embarked on foreign trips to promote the interests of the country, for peacebuilding and for mutually beneficial purposes. Those economic missions have yielded an estimated total investment value of P3.9 trillion or $71 billion," the President explained.

In 2022, Marcos went on state visits to Indonesia, Singapore, and China; attended the United Nations General Assembly in New York; and participated in the ASEAN summit in Cambodia.

Marcos was also in Thailand last November for the APEC 2022 and in Brussels, Belgium for the EU-ASEAN Summit.

The President also traveled to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum and had an official visit to Tokyo, Japan this year.

Marcos also secured $1.3 billion worth of investment pledges during his official visit to the United States in May.

The Department of Trade and Industry said earlier that $88 million in investments from Marcos' foreign trips would materialize this year.

Marcos presented glowing economic indicators during his second SONA, pointing to 2022's 7.6% economic growth as "the highest in 46 years."

He also cited the deceleration of inflation in the past five months, even as it continued to be above the government target of 2.0% to 4.0%.

The economy also expanded by 5.7% in 2021, after the economy contracted by 9.5% in 2020.

The Philippine economy grew by 6.1% in the first quarter of 2023, slower than the 8.0% growth in the same quarter last year and the 7.1% expansion in the last quarter of 2022.

The latest figures show that while the Philippines is among the top in Southeast Asia, it is slower than other areas in Asia alone — Macau with 38.0%, and Armenia with 12.1%. — DVM, GMA Integrated News