There’s lots to like, improve in PH, says departing envoy

British Ambassador to the Philippines Stephen Lillie: ‘Very positive’ on PH

MANILA, Philippines—There’s still much that needs improving in the Philippines, but a British diplomat believes it’s definitely fun to be in the country these days.

“This is a great time to be a Filipino,” British Ambassador to the Philippines Stephen Lillie told reporters at a lunch he hosted at his residence on Thursday.

“To me, the country feels self-confident, feels positive about its future. We see that in the growth figures, we see it in the fiscal figures, in the international credit ratings. The country is attracting great international attention so you see more businesses coming in to look at the country, more people investing, so it’s a very positive outlook,” said Lillie, who is completing a nearly four-year tour of duty in Manila in July.

Lillie will be returning to London to serve as Assistant Secretary for Asia Pacific in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the British foreign service.

He will be replaced by Asif Anwar Ahmad, formerly the UK ambassador to Thailand who has spent seven of his 14 years in the diplomatic service covering Asia-Pacific affairs.

Since arriving in Manila in August 2009, Lillie has noted improvements in governance and in the business climate. He praised President Aquino for the reforms instituted in the past three years.

“My impression of the Philippines is, of course, very positive. There’s a lot that binds our two countries together … As the Philippines continues to expand economically, there is more opportunity for us to do business together,” he said.

The British envoy hailed the passage of the sin tax law, a controversial measure that enables the government to make more funds available for public health by increasing taxes on tobacco.

He also cited the gains in the Mindanao peace process, which Britain has been closely watching and providing assistance through using its experience in resolving the Northern Ireland conflict.

Lillie also referred to the Philippines’ more recent economic achievements—7.8-percent economic growth in the first quarter and credit rating upgrades from international credit agencies—as magnets for increasing interest among UK businessmen.

Lillie said the volume of British imports into the Philippines had increased by 17 percent—British luxury cars, like other brand-name luxury consumer goods are particularly hot here, he said—and he noted an opportunity for greater trade.

“We’re doing well, but I think what we need to look at is the untapped potential. So FDI (foreign direct investment) in the Philippines as a whole is small. Our trade level with the Philippines is not as high as many other Southeast Asian countries. We’re doing well, but we can do a lot better,” he said.

Lillie also said the Philippines could do more to project to the world the image of a reforming country, saying many still held “outdated” views of the Philippines, as old as “the Philippines of the 1970s or the 1980s.”