#MINDANAO

In his March 3 speech before his country’s parliament, Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan spoke about how the world and the global economy are rapidly changing and how these profound changes are bound to affect Singapore. To help us navigate these realities, he, among other things, called for the strengthening of economies, and accelerating ASEAN economic integration. I believe that in that March 3 speech, Foreign Minister Balakrishnan was not only addressing the citizens of his country, he was speaking to me as a citizen of an ASEAN country. I encourage you to search for and listen to it online.

The speech of the foreign minister showed the volume of thought and analysis that goes into analyzing the external environment and how it affects a country.  It also reflected a clarity on national interest and how it must be appreciated as a necessary context when looking at the rest of the world. In my case, I express the hope that many who will listen to his speech will begin to look at our own country's situation and place in this part of the world.
At the same time, the speech is relevant to us since we are faced with the same realities he so eruditely pointed out, we ought to pause and ask ourselves some vital questions. What kind of world are we now seeing? How will this affect our way of life and the lived experience in the communities we live in? Do we have secure food systems, will our mobility in and out of our communities be hampered?

Among the challenges posed before us is that we will need to collaborate to address these current and coming realities. Collective efforts and dialogue will be required. To add, crucial in this endeavor is the role of the young who will inherit the realities we are currently facing, and our responses to these. We must encourage them to focus on developing solutions that they can carry forward to proactively respond to what we are facing.

With this, I renew my own call to build strong, inclusive, and resilient local economies that can efficiently provide food, goods, and services. Having adequate food, goods, and services will help build cohesive communities that can help all of us deal with complex geopolitical realities and the impacts these will have on us.

Davao developments worth noting

I would like to congratulate the Department of Trade and Industry Region 11 for ably organizing Negosyo centers in all provinces, the last in Davao Occidental. Being a frontline region of Mindanao, the Davao Region faces the counterpart states in Indonesia and Malaysia to promote trade, tourism, and business exchange. This makes it a hotspot for trade in Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Philippines – East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

As the Davao region continues to attract investments in manufacturing and real estate, its future growth is also premised on having more educational institutions that can train more leaders in skills needed to build the economy.

With this, De La Salle University recently broke ground for its school in the increasingly popular Davao Global Township in Davao City. This initiative is expected to bring avant-garde expertise in business, data science, and other fields which will upskill many local businesses in Mindanao to deal with the challenges of the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) world. At the same time, I believe the entry of DLSU can galvanize partnerships between different schools not only within Mindanao but also between BIMP EAGA countries.