(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte became an economic ambassador during the recently-concluded World Economic Forum (WEF) on Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Cambodia.
This was how Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez described President Duterte, recounting how the latter conducted himself before the forum in Phnom Penh, which was attended by hundreds of top CEOs and executives and other world leaders.
Lopez said Duterte highlighted the economic thrust of his administration, which he said, were received well by the international community.
The Duterte government’s economic agenda was under the program, “Dutertenomics” where infrastructure development is one of the key areas.
“You know, every time we are out and we usually accompany the President, he is the one that’s really becoming the some kind of an economic ambassador as well,” Lopez said in a press briefing led by Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella on Friday, May 12, with other Cabinet secretaries at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Hong Kong.
Lopez said President Duterte made a pitch for the Philippines by underscoring significant developments in the country especially in trade and investment, industrial and infrastructure development, and economic growth.
“Kasi ang bottom line kay President, gusto niya talaga magkaroon ng trabaho, magkaroon ng negosyo ‘yung mga kababayan natin. Talagang ma-empower sila, lalo na ‘yung mga nasa baba na lahat pwedeng umasenso, lahat pwedeng magtagumpay. (Because the bottom line for the President, he really wants to have jobs, to have businesses for our countrymen. For them to really empowered, especially those in the lower rungs, so that everybody can move forward, everybody can succeed),” he said.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade recalled how Duterte had received a standing ovation at the WEF in Cambodia.
Tama ho, nagpapalakpakan, nagtatayuan but beyond the standing ovation and the applause is a commitment to invest in real term in our country. That to me is a glaring manifestation of the very well accepted economic program exemplified and perorated upon by the President. In fact, lagi niya hong sinasabi, ‘Know me as a peace and order man; know me as a corruption buster; know me as a fighter of drug users and drug habits. Why am I doing this? Because I’m setting the environment for economic development,” he added.