Duterte vows to shield Thai investors from corruption

President Rodrigo Duterte thanks the chief executive officers (CEOs) of Thailand’s top business groups in a courtesy call during his visit to Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday, June 22, 2019. (Photo from an RTVM video posted on Facebook)

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte assured Thai business executives on Saturday that they would receive protection from corruption if they should invest in the Philippines.

“The President concluded his message by urging the Thai business community to ride with the Philippine growth momentum and asked them to invest in the country with the Chief Executive’s assurance of protection from corruption and financial gain from their investments,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.

The President is in Bangkok, Thailand to attend the 34th Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) Summit.

On Saturday, he met with several business executives “representing various strategic sectors in Thailand’s economy which range from banking, tourism, food and beverage to real estate, energy and agro-industry.”

READ: Duterte off to Bangkok for Asean leaders’ meet

Panelo said the executives paid the President a courtesy call, which he called an “affirmation of investor confidence to the competent and skilled leadership of the President.”

The President also thanked Thai businessmen for providing job opportunities for Filipinos, noting that Thailand was the Philippines’ third top investing country in the first quarter of the year, Panelo said.

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(Editor: Alexander T. Magno)