President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s eight foreign trips in seven months might be more than most of his predecessors did, but he is confident that at least one Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed is enough to compensate such trips.
During a media interview, he maintained that signing one MOU, which he hinted to be impossible, will more than make up for the expenses incurred during the trips.
“As I’m saying, if we get just one of the MOUs, isa lang; napakahina naman natin if isa lang ang makuha natin. Hindi namin ginagawa trabaho namin kung isa lang makukuha natin (just one; but we’re too weak if we will only get one. That means we are not doing our job). But sabihin na lang natin, isa lang ang makuha natin. Bawi na lahat nung trip ko (let’s just say, we get only one. That compensates for all my trips)," the Chief Executive explained.
Marcos argued that return on investment (ROI) based on the completion of any of the memorandums he signed during these trips would serve as the gauge to measure the benefits vis-a-vis the cost of his recent travels.
"Let’s say we get actual out of that one billion, bawing-bawi lahat ng (that’s a recoup of all the) eight trips. Finished. That's the idea,” he told the media.
“And we did not only go to China. We went to Davos. We went to the EU (European Union), we went to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), we went to APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation). So in each of those, many pledges were signed," Marcos added.
His recent trip to Davos, Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) was the President’s eighth official trip since assuming office.
He had also been to Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, the United States, Belgium, and, China.
"Now, the measure of success will be, you know, cost-benefit, very simple. How much effort did you put into it? It's not just the money. It's the time that you put into it. It's the time and the effort that goes into," Marcos pointed out.
The President also came to the defense of his delegation after it was reported that he carried a 70-man delegation to Davos.
He explained that his official delegation includes himself and the Cabinet members since they need to maximize efforts in finalizing partnerships and deals with international partners.
"Actually the official delegation is just myself and the Cabinet ministers, then they have staff. So, the rest are security. And the others that have been accompanying me are actually private sector. They don't actually fly with me. They go there on their own," Marcos said.
So far, ex-president Rodrigo Duterte remains the most traveled president in his first year in office, going to as many as 21 trips.
Former chief executives Corazon Aquino had four, while Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, and Benigno Aquino III had eight each, and Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Arroyo had 11.