FDI Increase Means More Jobs - Cayetano

Senator Alan Cayetano expressed confidence in the Aquino Administration today as a 10-percent increase in foreign direct investments (FDI) was announced by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

"This is the best development because investments will translate to jobs," Cayetano said. "Now I am more optimistic that soon the benefits of economic growth will be felt by all families, and not only the rich."

Cayetano has been fighting for an increase in employment as part of his campaign to address issues related to PTK: Presyo, Trabaho, Kita. He will officially launch PTK tomorrow at the Taguig City University (TCU) at 10 A.M.

Cayetano said that the fight to increase jobs is the continuation of the fight against corruption. "This only goes to show that foreign investors are noticing the country's improvement and are showing more confidence in the country's ability to sustain businesses," he said as he welcomed the increase of FDI as a sure sign that the government's anti-corruption drive is truly bearing fruit.

According to the BSP, FDI increased by 9.8 percent to $2.03 billion in 2012 from $1.85 billion in 2011. In December 2012 alone, FDI posted a $20 million inflow, a sharp turnaround from the $28 million net outflow a year earlier.

Cayetano explained that the country could now really claim that it has shown an improvement given that an increase in FDI means that the stage is now set for the situations of trabaho and kita in country to improve.

Cayetano stressed that the government must now focus on making it easier for investors to establish their businesses in the country. We must encourage competition in the market that can lower prices and increase the quality of goods and services. This is why I supported the Anti-Red Tape Bill to make it easier and cheaper to do business in the Philippines," he said.

NO INDUSTRY LEFT BEHIND

Cayetano, however, lamented that the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors did not receive any FDI for the third quarter of 2012 - a stark contrast to the P 960 million it received as FDI in 2011.

"We must not leave the agriculture sector behind. As the experts have identified, we should focus on improving the sectors of agriculture, manufacturing and tourism. These are industries that are more accessible to Filipinos given the majority of the population's existing skill set," he said.

Quoting World Bank country director for Philippines Motoo Konishi, Cayetano emphasized that "(s)upport for both the agriculture and tourism sectors is particularly important for job creation. These sectors also create more jobs and economic opportunities in other areas of the economy."

PROTECT LABORERS

Cayetano further stressed that this improvement must also serve as a challenge to the government to ensure that the labor force is protected from exploitation.

"We must be vigilant and strengthen the protection of our labor force. Contractualization as a form of circumventing the law, that diminishes income, should be curtailed. Further, adequate social protection should be given to our workers, such as the proper distribution of their social security service (SSS) and PhilHealth benefits," he said.

Cayetano also pointed out that the government must strive to bring lagging industries up to speed with improving ones to truly promote inclusive growth across all industries.

Cayetano is currently running under a platform focused on addressing issue related to PTK: Presyo, Trabaho, Kita and as such, is much involved in promoting programs and legislation aimed at lowering the prices of commodities, increasing the number of jobs, and improving the level of income in the country.

He is set to officially launch his platform in the Grand PTK: Presyo, Trabaho, Kita Launch on Wednesday, March 13 at 10 AM at the Taguig City University (TCU). He will be announcing how he intends to address the peoples' concerns based on what he has heard from his Listening Tour discussions with the various sectors of Philippine society. Here, the true needs of Filipinos will be put on center stage and concrete solutions to these needs will be presented by Cayetano.