00:56.0
And again, taking from your experience from Lamoyan, to scale it and then maybe look at ASEAN, even China market.
01:04.0
What are the gaps that the government needs to address so that it can be easier for you to do that?
01:10.0
The big ticket items in manufacturing like cars and other heavy industries like iron,
01:21.0
all of these require a lot of investment in energy production.
01:26.0
As you said, that's one of the things we need.
01:29.0
We should look at light industry.
01:33.0
Light industry is where China is very strong at.
01:37.0
But they're also strong in heavy industry.
01:40.0
But there are many light industry out there that are having a hard time exporting to the world
01:46.0
because of the West and the American strategy of stopping China.
01:52.0
So suddenly they're looking at possibilities of partnering or partnership with countries like the Philippines.
02:00.0
And this does not require much energy, more on labor-intensive work.
02:06.0
Like what kind of?
02:15.0
If you go to 168, you can buy a lot of water containers.
02:23.0
All made in China.
02:25.0
Now, this is now a thrust of China, of Chinese businessmen moving out and looking.
02:32.0
Every week, we have businessmen coming over and talking to us.
02:35.0
What opportunities are available to us?
02:38.0
What kind of facilities and what kind of incentives do we get if we invest here in the Philippines?
02:44.0
And we discussed this with BOI, by the Department of Trade.
02:50.0
Then we offer all of these incentives to them.
02:56.0
Like today, this evening, there's another group coming in.
03:00.0
So I have to accommodate them.
03:03.0
And tomorrow, we'll have another meeting.
03:05.0
Almost every week, we have investors coming in.
03:08.0
But what is available to us?
03:11.0
What do we look for?
03:13.0
What else is there?
03:15.0
We have a workforce.
03:18.0
A lot of people don't have jobs.
03:20.0
That's not the problem.
03:22.0
The problem is the incentives.
03:24.0
What incentives are available to us?
03:26.0
What kind of permits will be needed for this?
03:33.0
We'll go back to the same problem we addressed.
03:35.0
We discussed this already.
03:37.0
We bring it out already to the President.
03:40.0
Light industries.
03:41.0
Sir, you said there's opportunity.
03:44.0
Obviously, there's a lot of interest.
03:46.0
Does it worry you what's going on with China and the U.S. and how maybe the Philippines can be affected,
03:52.0
particularly on trade, on investments?
03:57.0
Obviously, when we do business with China or when we trade with any other country,
04:02.0
it helps smooth out those problems, right?
04:05.0
What is the Chamber doing maybe to help bring attention more to the business side and less on the geopolitical problems?
04:13.0
I always say this.
04:15.0
I have Chinese blood, but my heart is Filipino.
04:20.0
So we want to help this country.
04:22.0
How do we help this country?
04:24.0
Let's bring in investment and let's provide jobs.
04:27.0
Job generation is the key.
04:30.0
If there's no job, there's no future.
04:33.0
Our countrymen need jobs so that we can move forward faster.
04:38.0
So how do we bring them in?
04:40.0
You look at your competitor.
04:42.0
Our competitor will be Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and even maybe we're looking now at Cambodia,
04:49.0
Laos, and even Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India.
04:55.0
Everybody is looking for investments.
04:58.0
Everybody is coming out with their own incentives and their own strategy.
05:04.0
What are we going to do?
05:07.0
We can do our part, but we need the government to do their part, right?
05:13.0
And together, this is a synergy.
05:16.0
If it's just us, it won't happen.
05:18.0
This is a synergy.
05:20.0
Once we combine this synergy, then hopefully we can compete with the other countries that also are looking at synergy in their own areas.
05:30.0
So let's look at our advantages.
05:33.0
Our advantages here in the Philippines, number one, is we speak English.
05:37.0
If they come over and employ our people, they speak English.
05:41.0
If you go to Vietnam, you have to speak Vietnamese.
05:43.0
Karamihan sa kanya, don't speak English.
05:45.0
The same thing with Thailand, the same thing with Indonesia.
05:48.0
They had a hard time communicating in English.
05:51.0
Unlike here, most of us, at least, if we cannot speak properly, at least we can understand.
06:00.0
Laking advantage ito sa Philippines.
06:04.0
Now, how do we take advantage of this?
06:07.0
We are highly educated.
06:09.0
We may not be the best educated, but we're highly educated.
06:12.0
90% or 95% of Filipinos are educated in a way.
06:18.0
At least hanggang high school meron.
06:21.0
So this is one way of promoting our country.
06:24.0
We are highly educated, highly competent, and very good in English-speaking nation.
06:31.0
Capitalize on this, that's one.
06:33.0
Pero kailangan din pa rin other elements.
06:37.0
There are a few elements to look into.
06:41.0
But we capitalize on this, pero talo naman tayo sa ibang areas, wala rin mangyayari sa atin.
06:47.0
We have to look at the weaknesses and hopefully correct some of the weaknesses or take out the weaknesses
06:54.0
so we can focus on our strength and capitalize on our strength to be competitive in the world.
07:02.0
Hindi ng Pilipinas ang pinag-usapan ngayon, the world ang pinag-usapan.
07:06.0
Kalaban natin, hindi Pilipinas.
07:08.0
Kalaban natin, hindi Pilipino.
07:10.0
Kung hindi the world Chino, kalaban natin.
07:13.0
Malaysian, kalaban natin.
07:15.0
Thailand, lahat sila kalaban natin in terms of being competitive in the business sector.
07:22.0
Business is all about competition.
07:24.0
If you cannot stand the competition, don't do business.
07:30.0
You will not survive.
07:32.0
You have to compete and you have to be the best, nothing less.
07:36.0
Sir, you talk about the importance of education and a lot of people are connecting that also to food security,
07:45.0
especially at the lower levels.
07:47.0
Sometimes the problem is children going to school hungry, maybe even malnourished,
07:54.0
so it doesn't really sink in.
07:56.0
What can be done about that?
07:59.0
Because if you don't address that from an early age, that will have a cascading effect throughout that person's life
08:06.0
and it affects all of the things that we want to do.
08:10.0
Do you see that as an urgent need or are there other things that we should look at that is more fundamental and more basic?
08:21.0
Malnourished, I don't think that is a major problem.
08:26.0
There are a few segments of malnourished population, but very few, maybe in the hinterlands.
08:34.0
What I am concerned with as far as education is proper oral hygiene.
08:41.0
Masakit ng ngipin, hindi na papasok yan.
08:45.0
You can't think and you can't do anything.
08:47.0
Yes, and unfortunately, we are one of the highest population with oral cavities.
08:55.0
More than 95% may oral cavities.
09:00.0
They were not properly educated on how to take care of their teeth.
09:06.0
Madali lang yan. You just have to brush your teeth regularly, clean your teeth after every meal, tapos na yan.
09:12.0
Maybe it's because toothpaste are so expensive.
09:16.0
That's why we decided to sell it at a lower price and make it affordable to all people in the country.
09:23.0
The key here is brush your teeth regularly.
09:26.0
Proper oral hygiene.
09:28.0
Hopefully, in the process, we will bring down itong oral cavities to a level that is more reasonably competitive to the rest of the world.
09:41.0
Yung mga iba, halos wala ng cavity.
09:44.0
Tayo na lang ang 95% of our population may cavities.
09:48.0
You should go to your dentist regularly, at least once every three months, every quarter, to check.
09:53.0
Yung cavities, pag naagapan, walang problema yan. That will last also.
10:00.0
Tapos na yung promotion. Let's talk about other things.
10:03.0
Ang daming punting gawin eh, di ba?
10:06.0
Where do we begin?
10:07.0
Because like I said kanina, it seems overwhelming.
10:10.0
But if you would break it down to what should be done first for maybe the next year,
10:16.0
ano bang dapat tignan muna?
10:18.0
Is that possible?
10:20.0
Several sectors eh, di ba?
10:22.0
If you're talking of the government, anong unahin nila?
10:25.0
Sabi ko, ease of doing business, unahin mo muna yan.
10:27.0
Change some of the rules in the environment.
10:33.0
Some of the rules are not friendly to business.
10:38.0
Palitan natin, di ba?
10:39.0
So those are things. Government naman yan.
10:42.0
Private sectors, how do we make ourselves?
10:44.0
Intelligence, AI, go to technology.
10:48.0
Upgrade your technology.
10:52.0
Everybody in China now is into Lazada, Alipay, ano ba?
10:58.0
They don't shop anymore in the stores.
11:02.0
Pag pumunta sila sa store, titignan nila, hawakan nila yung produkto and then uuwi sila.
11:07.0
They will buy online.
11:09.0
It's cheaper and everything is delivered to your house.
11:12.0
Halos walang tao sa mga department store.
11:16.0
Naaawa ko sa department store. They have to close down pretty soon.
11:20.0
That is the direction we're going.
11:23.0
The direction we're going.
11:25.0
So how do you make yourself competitive?
11:27.0
Go into technology.
11:28.0
Make sure that you're part of Shopee ba rito? Lazada?
11:32.0
Or whatever is available.
11:35.0
Amazon is coming in.
11:39.0
Alibaba is coming in in a big way.
11:41.0
So pretty soon we have to be there.
11:43.0
If you're not there, you're not competitive.
