Solaire Grand Ballroom, Pasay City
November 12, 2017
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte graced the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Mentorship for Entrepreneurs Network (AMEN) and the opening ceremony of the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit held at the Solaire in Pasay City.
In his speech, the President urged the government and business sector leaders who are part of the AMEN to “become a catalyst for inclusive prosperity that can be shared by all.”
“So you guys, the small businessmen, maybe a few billions here and there would suffice? Well, talagang bubuhos ako ng capital because we found out in our meetings with APEC, that the basic, basic unit of the economy has always been moved by the MSMEs,” he added.
He also shared highlights of his participation in the 25th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Meeting (AELM) wherein he held bilateral meetings with President Xi Jinping of China.
“And we agreed and he agrees, and he said, ‘If you are President Duterte and you want to preserve the lives of the Filipinos, then as President of China, I want to save lives. I do not waste the lives of my countrymen for a useless war that cannot be won by anybody.’ He made it clear to us that the only way to go is cooperation. And so I would say that we should open our doors to everybody. Ideological conflicts are no longer in the vogue, it’s a passé. We do not go about running this world in accordance to our… Whether it is a pretended principle in life or just want to go the aggressor,” he said.
Likewise, President Duterte also underscored that the recently concluded government operations against the terrorists who took over in Marawi City and he was not interested in engaging in armed conflicts as much as possible.
“But for those who are not really… I will… So as not to repeat the kind of thing that we fought for about four months and at the expense of the lives of many people, Christians and Muslims alike. We get nothing. Nobody won that war, not government. We’re able to kill, how many? Terrorist and even? It does not promote peace in this world. We were just acting on a police punitive action,” he remarked.
He also hoped to improve the live for all Filipino people during his term as President.
“Philippines is doing well. It has been consistently improving since the time of President Ramos and as we have maintained the 6.1. So hopefully, by 2030, I can assure every Filipino. I never promised a paradise for us. I know how hard it is really to fix the economy,” he said.
“But what I promised you… and I’ve been… during the campaign is I will just make the life of the Filipino comfortable. That is all that I can do for you,” the President ended.
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