The Philippines can use the economic success of Japan as a “roadmap” to economic recovery, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said.
Cayetano made the manifestion during the Commission on Appointments (CA) plenary session when it confirmed the interim appointment of Mylene Garcia-Albano as the country’s new envoy to Japan.
"Kung gusto nating baguhin ang Pilipinas (If we want to change the country), the friendship of Japan and the Philippines is very important. The model of Japan na dapang-dapa (which was devastated) but within 30 years became one of the strongest economies of the world can be our roadmap,” Cayetano said during the CA session on Wednesday, September 21.
Cayetano, who served as Foreign Affairs Secretary from 2017 to 2018, stressed the importance of the country's relations with Japan given the historical and economic ties of the two countries.
From a “very bitter past” during World War II, he pointed out the two countries have now become friends.
“Over the years, we found a way to love our enemies and Japan also found a way to go beyond reparations through aid, financing, and technology,” he said.
At the same time, Cayetano paid tribute to the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his effort to navigate a rough patch in the relationship between the United States of America during the previous administration.
“I’d like to again pay tribute to Prime Minister Abe during the time when the Philippines and the US had a rough relationship under the Duterte administration,” he said.
“The Japanese stepped up and Prime Minister Abe played the role of bridging our relationship with the US,” Cayetano stressed.