President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s said his Japan trip went "according to plan" and was even "beyond" expectation as he returned to the country on Sunday night, Feb. 12, carrying US$13-billion investment pledges.
"I think everything went according to plan at saka (and) beyond— kasi maraming bago na hindi namin ine-expect na naging proposal na galing sa Japanese corporations (because there were a lot of proposals from Japanese corporations that we did not expect)," Marcos said in an interview en route to the Philippines.
In his arrival speech, Marcos bared that his five-day official trip to Tokyo, Japan, yielded US$13-billion investment pledges that could create about 24,000 jobs.
He said the Philippine delegation was able to finalize all their agenda in their trip, which, he said, is a "good result."
"I think there was— all of the projects that were in the pipeline, I think we were able to finalize all of them on this trip. So that’s a good result, I think, from this trip," he said.
The President further said his meetings in Japan, including his bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, was "very fruitful."
"I had a very fruitful meeting with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. Found by shared values and common aspirations for our peoples, we committed to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan and map out a transformative future-oriented partnership that is responsive to new developments," he said in his speech.
He also reported that the Philippines and Japan have cemented their defense and security relations and covered various areas of cooperation such as agriculture and Information and Communication Technology.
He said that Japan committed to provide infrastructure development loans for two major projects—North-South Commuter Railway and the North-South Commuter Railway project extension, totaling to 377 billion Japanese Yen or US$3 billion.
The chief executive stressed that "it was very clear that our strategic partnership with Japan has stood the test of time and is poised for a new decade of mutual trust, mutual support, and mutual benefit."