House Speaker Martin Romualdez and the flag of the United States (Speaker’s office, Unsplash)




House Speaker Martin Romualdez was his usual upbeat and positive self during the briefing between members of the Philippine economic team and foreign investors in the United States (US) capital of Washington D.C. Romualdez, who was part of the Philippine delegation, welcomed the encouraging remarks made by Standard Chartered Bank Global Head of Public Sector and Development Organizations Karby Leggett, World Bank Country Director for Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Brunei Ndiamé Diop, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Director, Asia, and Pacific Department Sanjaya Panth after the economic team's presentation Thursday (Philippine time), April 13. Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Benjamin Diokno led the economic team. “We are committed to passing more measures that the Marcos administration may need to further enhance investment in the Philippines aimed at improving the lives of Filipinos," said Romualdez, who is arguably President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s top ally in the legislature. "I urge foreign investors to stay the course with us and share the benefits of progress and development,” Romualdez added, During the briefing held at Fairmont in Washington D.C., Standard Chartered Bank, WB, and IMF officials cited the continued strong and resilient Philippine economy despite global challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic and inflation. Romualdez said the event was part of the Marcos administration’s whole-of government approach to attracting more foreign investments that would create more income and job opportunities for Filipinos. “I commend members of the economic team for this briefing. The United States is a major source of investments and funding assistance. The World Bank and IMF are likewise principal development funders,” said the Leyte 1st district congressman. He thanked the WB,IMF and several big multinational banks for helping organize the conference, which was the second held in Washington D.C. and the third in the US. Other Philippine officials led by Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez attended the event. Members of the economic team who briefed the multilateral agencies, banks, and prospective investors were Diokno, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Amenah Pangandaman, and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director-General Arsenio Balisacan. In his remarks, Diokno said the 2022-2028 Medium Term Fiscal Framework, which Congress passed shortly after it convened in July last year, “serves as a compass to steer the economy closely along the patch of fiscal sustainability and economic growth". “The targets and measures under this framework are firmly supported not only by the President but also by both houses of Congress,” he said. He cited economic liberalization measures Congress recently approved to attract more foreign investments, such as the amended Public Service Act, Foreign Investments Act, and Retail Trade Liberalization Act.