TOKYO, Japan — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. told Japanese business leaders on Thursday that his administration has fast-tracked its “Build, Better, More” infrastructure program to support different economic activities in the future.
Marcos said this during a roundtable meeting with top executives of Japanese semiconductor, electronics, and wiring harness companies, here.
In his speech, the President noted the ongoing infrastructure development in the Philippines, which he described as a "very robust and aggressive program" of the previous administration.
"We have, in fact, actually accelerated it further and have made it a priority because we understand the importance of the infrastructure development, not only in terms of roads, imports, but even in the soft infrastructure that we need to have in place," he said.
President Marcos also assured Japanese investors that the government will try to address the problems of logistics, which they have mentioned during previous meetings.
"The logistics problems are also one of the areas that we will try to answer, specifically by having the infrastructure that can support the different activities -- economic activities -- that you are proposing for the future," he said.
The Chief Executive likewise underscored the need to pursue an investment-led export growth strategy for the country's economic agenda, citing the government’s goal to strengthen and empower small businesses.
"They are the heart of our communities. And most importantly, we intend to grow the position of the country as an industrial/service hub in the region through the establishment of anchor locators such as yourselves, who we hope will stimulate development to attract tier 1 to tier 3 suppliers," Marcos said.
"This will help us create an efficient and expansive supply chain. We have listened to your concerns and your issues, and we intend to respond to these challenges with a whole-of-government approach," he added.