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Saturday, October 20, 2012

The Philippines in Europe

First Things First
By Francisco S. Tatad

Brussels—Without creating any illusion that the Eurozone crisis is over, the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union has lifted the spirit of so many Europeans and made them feel they were all Nobel Prize winners. Nowhere is this perhaps more evident than in the European Development Days here in Brussels where several African presidents and Philippine Vice President Jejomar C. Binay have converged to congratulate the EU on the Prize and to discuss development cooperation with the European leaders.

The European Development Days is Europe’s premier forum on international affairs and development cooperation. Established in 2006, its seventh forum took place amidst the still-virulent Eurozone crisis centered on the unrelieved Greek and Spanish debt problems. In singling out Europe as a force for reconciliation and peace, the Prize created no distraction from the crisis, but took the wind away from the sail of those who say the crisis can be solved only by getting rid of the euro and Europe itself as a political institution.
It provides an added argument for Europe’s continued existence.
At this week’s EDD, which coincided with World Food Day and the day focused on the eradication of poverty, President Jose Manuel Barroso of the European Commission declared that despite its failure to tame the crisis, Europe remains a strong and committed development partner to the developing countries, and will not turn its back on them. This was seconded by President Dimitris Christofias of Cyprus, the rotating president of the Council of the European Union, and welcomed by the president of Benin and acting president of the African Union, Thomas Boni Yayi of Benin, President Armando Emilio Guebuza of Mozambique, President Macky Sall of Senegal, President Joyce Banda of Malawi, and President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon, who all described the EU-assisted programs in their respective countries.
Yet it was Binay, speaking for President Benigno Aquino III, and the lone Asian leader in the company of so many African presidents, who provided the most eloquent response to Barroso’s statement. After citing the EU’s contribution to the Philippine programs, he assured the EU that “whatever challenges we may have to face separately or together between now and in the future, we shall never abandon our faith in Europe.” I thought I saw one European official wipe a misty eye after these words were spoken.
In his well-applauded address, Binay told the assembly that amidst the continuing global crisis, the brightest spots in the global economy were to be found in the developing countries. The World Bank itself projects that growth in those countries, while slowing to 5.3 percent in 2012, will strengthen to 5.9 percent in 2013 and to 6.1 percent in 2014.
Binay impressed his audience with his report on the Philippines under Aquino’s leadership. “We are now, according to HSBC, the 44th largest economy in the world,” he began. “Our gross domestic product grew by 6.4 percent in the first quarter of this year, and is on track to keep that pace throughout 2012. Our growth rates have outperformed all economies in the region with the exception of China. Our gross international reserves of $70 billion now exceed our total foreign debt, and this has allowed us to commit $1 billion to the International Monetary Fund to help some troubled economies.
Since the Aquino administration took office in 2010, we have pushed the shadow of official corruption decisively to the past. We have since received two credit ratings upgrades from the most reputable institutions, and are now one notch away from investment grade status. In a world economy that must contend with the rapid and irreversible ageing of the population, and serious problems of generational replacement in many developed countries, our young and robust English-speaking workforce helps to make the Philippines an attractive investment destination and manufacturing center as well as a reliable supplier of migrant labor for highly industrialized countries.
The acting president of the African Union made the same point by saying that by 2050, Africa will have the biggest young population as ageing afflicts the rest of the world. This is how the future will be built.
Binay spoke of the newly concluded agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front as the fruit of “our earnest desire to eradicate social injustice and inequality and make human development the main driving force and central motive of our peace and reconciliation efforts with the various parties in armed conflict with the State.”
Encouraged by this breakthrough, we hope we could soon finalize our next peace agreement with the Communist Party of the Philippines and its military arm, and the National Democratic Front, he said. The dividend we derive from this peace effort should enhance our prospects in transforming the nation’s economic and social fabric, consistent with our people’s shared ambitions for themselves, he added.
Binay’s successful participation in the EDD debates opened the door to further successful meetings with high EU officials on specific development projects, air transport issues, and humanitarian aid. From Brussels, he proceeds to Rome to lead the official Philippine delegation as the President’s representative at this weekend’s canonization rites of the Filipino martyr, Blessed Pedro Calungsod.

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