President back with good news from Canada

Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)

MANILA, Philippines–President Aquino arrived home early Monday from a five-day trip to Canada and the United States with “good news”—pledges of more investments, a package of initiatives boosting trade and labor relations with Canada and expressions of goodwill from his foreign hosts.

Aquino arrived in Manila on Philippine Airlines Flight PR001 at 3:04 a.m., Malacañang said.

In his arrival statement at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2, the President said the “positive fruits” of current and incoming Canadian and American investments in the Philippines “will be reaped for generations to come.”

“Though we spent 37 hours in the air and 83 hours in the different time zones that we crossed, it’s really worth it,” Aquino said.

“Though it is this early, we are wide awake and your government is reporting to you: Boss, anywhere in the world, we see Filipinos with their heads held high, ready to take any opportunity to realize the Filipino dream in a fair, prosperous and admired Philippines,” he said.

Earlier, during the flight from Ottawa to Toronto, the President summed up for reporters the gains of his state visit to Canada.

“We are thankful because in every meeting that we attended, we were warmly welcomed by our hosts,” he recalled, referring to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Governor General David Johnston, as well as an undisclosed number of business leaders.

Aquino spoke about the strengthening of Philippine-Canadian trade and commerce and hailed the Canadian government for being the Philippines’ “partner in strengthening security cooperation and fighting crime and terrorism” in the Asia-Pacific region.

Citing the series of business meetings he attended in Canada, he said the Philippines could expect more investments from Canada.

In Vancouver alone, the last stop of his three-city swing in Canada, the Aquilini Investment Group committed to expand its investments and business activities in the Philippines, Aquino said.

Aquilini, which has invested more than P1.3 billion in waste recycling and energy conversion in Cebu province, expressed interest in investing in the country’s tourism and agriculture sectors, he said.

“I was surprised to learn that aside from corn, they’re also interested in growing blueberries and cranberries here,” Aquino said.

That is “not wishful thinking,” he said. “They’re really planning to do it within the next year and a half.”

“Makes we wonder,” he went on. “If we can plant strawberries in the provinces of Bukidnon, Quezon and [Benguet], can these places also be suitable for blueberries and cranberries?”

Also in Vancouver, the President and British Columbia Premier Christy Clark witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding to facilitate the employment of Filipinos in British Columbia, where there is a 136,000-strong Filipino community.

An agreement signed by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and Teresa Watt, British Columbia minister for international trade, would enforce existing regulations intended to protect workers.

The agreement is geared toward the elimination of barriers to the certification, recognition and matching of skills and qualifications of Filipino migrant workers.

During the state visit, the Philippines and Canada also signed a framework agreement on mutual accountability spelling out their commitment to reduce poverty in the Philippines, and a memorandum of understanding expanding collaboration in occupational health and safety to create safer workplaces here.

President Aquino and Harper agreed to explore the possibility of forging a free trade agreement between the Philippines and Canada, whose bilateral trade is worth nearly $20 billion.

In a roundtable hosted by the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada in Toronto, TD Bank Group chair Franck McKenna said Canadian business was impressed with the Philippines’ ascent in global competitiveness because of transparency and good government policies.

CEOs of other Canadian firms, upbeat about the Philippine economy, also expressed interest in investing in the country.

In Chicago, where he made a one-day working visit before proceeding to Canada, President Aquino met with businessmen belonging to the US Chamber of Commerce, US-Asean Business Council and the National Center for Apec (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation).

“Some of them expressed interest in expanding their business operations in our country,” Aquino said.