MULING iginiit ni Pangulong Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. na walang kakampihan ang Pilipinas sa pagitan ng China at Amerika bagkus ang interest ng bansa ang kaniyang pipiliin.
Maliban dito naniniwala ang Pangulo na ang Pilipinas ang ‘fastest growing country’ sa Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Malaman ang naging pag-uusap ni Pangulong Marcos at World Economic Forum President Borge Brende sa isang one-on-one dialogue nitong Miyerkules sa Davos Switzerland.
Iba’t ibang isyu ang kanilang tinalakay mula sa ekonomiya, geopolitical tension, nagdaang halalan at iba pa.
Isa na rito ay ang posisyon ng Pilipinas kung sino ang papanigan nito sa pagitan ng China at Amerika.
Muling iginiit ni Pangulong Marcos na hindi na angkop sa panahon ngayon ang tinatawag na Cold War mentality o ang pangangailangang pumili sa pagitan ng dalawang makapangyarihang bansa.
“But I think most leaders and most strategist have a consensus that we should not fall back into that kind of situation where all countries have to choose which side they will be on” saad ni Pagulong Marcos.
At kung siya ay papipiliin sa pagitan ng China at Amerika, ito ang kaniyang naging tugon.
“So when asked which side are you on, I said, well I don’t work for Beijing, I don’t work for Washington D.C.. I worked for the Philippines so I’m on the side of the Philippines and that really translates into a very simple statement of foreign policy which is I promote the national interest,” dagdag ng Pangulo.
Isyu sa South China Sea, hindi nagpapatulog kay PBBM
Aminado naman si Pangulong Marcos na ang isyu sa South China Sea ay isa sa mga hindi nagpapatulog sa kaniya.
“Keeps you up at night, keeps you up in the day, keeps you up most of the time. It’s something… It’s very dynamic. It’s constantly in flux. So you have to pay attention to it and to make sure that you are at least aware of the present situation so that you’re able to respond properly,” aniya.
Muli namang binigyang-diin ng Pangulo ang kaniyang posisyon hinggil sa isyu na mataguyod ang kapayapaan at ang interes ng bansa.
“And so whenever these tensions increase, when the ships come out, the Chinese and their Coast Guard vessels, the Americans answer. We are watching as bystanders. If something goes wrong here, we are going to suffer. And that’s why the — when asked what is your foreign policy and how would you describe it, I say, it’s a commitment to peace and a very — very, very close and guided very, very closely by our national interest as I mentioned before” ayon pa kay Pangulong Marcos.
Pilipinas, fastest growing country sa ASEAN
Samantala, pinuri naman ni WEF President Børge Brende ang Pilipinas para sa mataas nitong Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth kung saan nalampasan nito ang iba pang mga bansa sa Southeast Asia.
“It is incredible that — I think now, Philippines is the fastest growing of the ASEAN countries,” ani Borge Brende, World Economic Forum President.
“I think in ASEAN. I think we’re still the fastest,” ani Pangulong Marcos.
Una nang sinabi ni Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno na inaasahan ng pamahalaan ang malakas na full-year GDP growth para sa 2022 kung saan mas mabilis pa ito sa growth target na 6.5 hanggang 7.5 percent.
Dadag pa ni Diokno na inaasahan naman na lalago lamang sa humigit-kumulang 6.5 percent ang GDP growth ngayong 2023 dahil sa inaasahang paghina ng pandaigdigang ekonomiya.
Ito pa rin aniya ang isa sa mga pinakamataas na growth projection sa Asia-Pacific Region.
Pero sinabi ni Pangulong Marcos na bagama’t babagal sa 2.7 percent ang 2023 global economic growth na batay sa projection ng International Monetary Fund, inaasahan nila na lalago ang ekonomiya ng bansa sa 7.0 percent sa 2023.
“In the Philippines, the picture is slightly different and we project our economy to grow by around 7.0 percent in 2023. Our actual projection is 6.5 but there are signs that we might be able to surpass that,” saad ng Punong Ehekutibo.
