House Speaker Martin Romualdez made a solid investment pitch before members of the United States (US) business community early morning Tuesday (Philippine time), Sept. 20 by assuring them of the Philippines' commitment toward deeper cooperation.
Romualdez is part of the official delegation of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., who is in the middle of various activities leading up to his attendance at the 77th United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York City.
Romualdez, who represents Leyte's 1st district, spoke to the stateside businessmen after Marcos delivered the keynote message at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) economic forum.
“Thank you for giving an opportunity to the Marcos administration and for considering the President's agenda and vision. We are open to broadening and strengthening the economic partnership with the Philippine government. Let us continue to promote mutually beneficial trade and investment relationships,” Romualdez said.
“Rest assured that we, in the Philippine House of Representatives, remain committed to enacting laws that would help deepen cooperation with the , particularly in the areas of the supply chain, health and security, environment and climate change, energy security, and interconnectivity,” he added
Romualdez said Congress has been working very hard with the Chief Executive to introduce reforms and attract more foreign investors into the Philippines.
“With your assistance under the leadership of President Marcos, you would help us get back on our feet and bring us closer to realizing our dream of providing a better future to our fellow Filipinos,” the House Speaker pointed out.
Before attending the event at the NYSE, Romualdez said President Marcos led a series of meetings with officials of big business firms to discuss potential investments in the Philippines.
“We need more trading partners to realize President Marcos’s infrastructure modernization program, which is the best driver of economic growth,” Romualdez said.
He said the Philippine leader aims to sustain government efforts toward effectively responding to the crippling effects of the health crisis brought by the Covid-19 pandemic by focusing government spending on improving the country’s healthcare systems, ensuring food security, increasing investments in public and digital infrastructure, and helping communities cope and prevail in these trying times.
“We have to make different sectors of the economy stronger and more agile by creating more jobs and catalyzing business activities all over the country while saving lives and protecting communities from the continuing threat of the global health crisis,” Romualdez said.
The House Speaker said the US is a significant source of investments and is the Philippines’ major trading and economic cooperation partner and ally.
The US is also the biggest source of remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and Filipino-Americans, Romualdez added.