The Philippine Star, 6 March 2013

Arangkada Philippines is an initiative of the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines whose memberships include companies with large business interests in the country. As such, they are all stakeholders in the nation’s progress. Arangkada means accelerated motion. Rising economic growth helps them increase their business in the country. But most of all, economic growth raises everyone’s income and well-being. As they say, a rising tide raises all boats.

“The Arangkada project.” To enhance their contribution toward improving the business climate, they set up the Arangkada project with the support of the USAID. Unlike other development activities to improve policies, the approach mobilizes the private sector to support policy making.

The Joint Foreign Chambers in the Philippines is composed of the Philippine chapters of the American Chamber of Commerce; Australian-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce; Canadian Chamber; European Chamber; and the Korean Chamber; and the Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters (PAMURI). A notable non-member of the group is the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in the country.

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Malaya Business Insight, 6 March 2013

‘The benefits from the apparent economic improvements have not yet been felt by the lower socio-economic groups to which most Filipinos belong.’

ARANGKADA Philippines is a cooperative undertaking of all foreign chambers of commerce in the country led prominently by the oldest and biggest one, the American Chamber of Commerce. The project is designed to help foreign companies interested in doing business in the Philippines by collecting and disseminating information about economic and investment conditions in the country. It works in close coordination with the Philippine government and private entities whose functions include encouraging foreign commercial involvement in the country.

Last year, Arangkada held its first public forum showcasing a report that assessed the overall social and economic status of the country after the first year of the Aquino government. The report also featured a number of recommendations and suggestions to further improve the climate for more engagement by the international business community in the national economic development efforts. Then, Arangkada was generally optimistic and supportive of Filipino initiatives in most areas of commerce and industry.

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Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning.

How many of you remember the song “What a Difference a Day Makes”? It goes a little like this. . . .

“What a difference a day makes
Twenty-four little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be rain. . .”

I’d rather refrain from singing the entire song as I do not want to risk breaking my contract with Universal/ Sony Records. On the other hand considering what I said last year, many of you might think that I should shift from being an economic commentator to a singer.

If I recall in connection with last year’s theme, “Moving Twice as Fast”, I said that the economy would not move that fast. I said then that “if we take the lowest actual growth rate of 3.2 per cent of 2011 and multiply it by two, this would give us a 6.4 per cent minimum growth rate for 2012 in order to reflect an economy that has moved twice as fast”.

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Remarks by U.S. Ambassador Harry K. Thomas Jr.

at the Arangkada Philippines Forum

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