President Marcos has lauded Unilever's new beauty, well-being, and personal care (BWPC) factory in General Trias, Cavite, saying it brings the Philippines a step closer to becoming a progressive, empowered, and sustainable country.

"We take today a further step towards our collective vision of a more progressive, empowered, and sustainable Philippines with the inauguration of Unilever's New Beauty, Well-being, and Personal Care Factory," Marcos said as he led the inauguration of the establishment on Friday, Sept. 22.

In his speech, the President highlighted that Unilever's BWPC factory resulted from his trip to Brussels, Belgium, for the ASEAN-EU Summit in December last year.

"I would like to note that this major investment is amongst the pledges that we received during our trip to Belgium," he said.

"To see this project come to fruition after just several months is not only encouraging, it also inspires me and the rest of the government to work even harder for the Filipino people," he added.

According to Marcos, the high-technology and sustainability-driven manufacturing facility is a welcome development as it boosts the country's manufacturing sector and creates jobs and opportunities for Filipinos.

"This manufacturing plant is projected to produce nearly 90,000 tons of various personal care products annually, and this is to meet the growing domestic and export demand for Unilever products," he said.

"It is also worth mentioning that this plant is one of Unilever's largest personal care facilities in the world and is expected to generate over 5,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities for our countrymen," he added.

With this, the President thanked Unilever for its trust and confidence in the Philippines and the Filipino talent and described the inauguration as a "vote of confidence" for other foreign investors.

"It is very important that this serves also as a vote of confidence, not only for Unilever but also a vote of confidence for other investors who would like to come in when such an important facility, such as this, has been put up still here in the Philippines," Marcos said.

"I'm sure it will help to encourage other groups to come in and do the same," he added.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive assured Unilever of his administration's support in their endeavors.

"Let me thus assure you of the government's unwavering support for your company's expansion and sustainability plans here in the Philippines, as well as for your just and humanitarian causes that benefit our citizens and communities," Marcos said.

"I have faith that we can actualize the goals of boosting employment, adopting research, development, and innovation, and shaping a blue and a green economy," he added.

According to Malacañang, Unilever's new care factory is an expansion project that will use fourth-industrial revolution technology to automate and digitize local operations and increase the production of personal care products to meet the growing domestic and export demands.

Unilever employs around 148,000 people worldwide, with over 400 brand names in 190 countries. Unilever Philippines, operating for almost a century, has since manufactured household brands that uphold the legacy of a business built on sustainability.