Why I stand for BBM
Published Apr 29, 2022 00:05 am
|
Updated Apr 29, 2022 00:05 am
By ATTY. DANIEL Y. LAOGAN
During the 1980s yours truly served as one of the senior officers of the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc., the umbrella organization of close to 200 chambers of commerce all over the Philippines.
I was witness to the tremendous goodness that the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos was able to bestow to the Chinese Community.
Primarily, he issued Presidential Decree No. 20 for mass naturalization of qualified aliens in the country. That single act allows tens of thousands of Chinese nationals who are here for decades to become Filipino citizens thus allowing them to build factories and own lands which contributed to rapid economic development in our country. The naturalization process also benefited their entire families, including spouses and children that are now captains of industry.
Another good that the late President Marcos was able to give the Chinese community was to restore peace and order during a time when rampant kidnapping of Chinese millionaires took place. He formed several task forces dedicated to eradicate and solve all these crimes thus restoring confidence of big Chinese businessmen in the country.
A significant step was his bold move to open diplomatic ties with Peoples’ Republic of China.
This single act, allowed a lot of families displaced by years of war and economic turmoil to be re-united once again. These ties spurred a lot of Chinese investors to come to the Philippines and set-up businesses.
A lot of the prominent Chinese business tycoons are actually the direct beneficiaries since their grandparents and parents benefited from it.
For no one is perfect in this world, I sincerely believe that presidential frontrunner, Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr., is perfect to become the next president of the Philippines. Lets support and vote for No. 7, BBM on May 9, 2022 and have a united Philippines.
E-mail: dylswerte@yahoo.com
(The author was a member of the board of directors of the Development Bank of the Philippines in 2016. Currently, he is a private law practitioner based in Manila.)