Anti-US rants upset business

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte    AP FILE PHOTO

President Duterte’s style of policymaking is causing unease in the business community given that it is perceived to be “driven by impulse rather than study,” the New York-based think tank Global Source said.

His “loose speech” is giving investors pause, while his anti-US rhetoric is “fueling leftist militancy” that will have business consequences, it said in a commentary titled “Oops!… He did it again.”

Some of the consequences noted are in the form of labor and land conversion policies, as well as mining environmental activism.
Global Source published the commentary following Mr. Duterte’s declaration of “separation” from the United States in a business forum during his state visit to China last week.