The Peninsula Manila, Makati City
8 October 2012

President Benigno S. Aquino III keynoted the 2012 Philippine Development Foundation’s Economic Forum held at The Peninsula Manila in Makati City.

In his speech, the President assured PhilDev that the country is always ready to work with them in order to achieve its vision of a Philippines that reflects the enormous talents of the Filipinos. He said that their presence is an indication of their belief that the creativity of each Filipino can be utilized into a much greater force and that the quickest way for the Philippines to progress is to capitalize on its people which are the nation’s greatest asset. President Aquino mentioned that the government makes sure that the talents of the Filipinos will not be wasted. Through the efforts of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and other government agencies, the government is investing on the people’s health, education and social services.

President Aquino also congratulated PhilDev for its Hack2Hatch program which encourages and teaches the Filipinos “to build businesses in the foundation of good ideas.” He also brought up the Philippines-California Advanced Research Institutes (PCARI) project of the Philippine government in partnership with PhilDev, University of California-Berkeley and University of California-San Francisco. The project will improve the information infrastructure in the Philippines such as the government’s information technology capacities.

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