At least 200 Japanese manufacturing companies presently based in China and Japan are considering relocating to the Philippines and some of President Rodrigo Duterte’s supporters are already thanking him for this achievement.
Some supporters praised Duterte for ensuring work for Filipinos in the Philippines so they won’t have to leave the country.
If you noticed, the blog that was shared on the Duterte Facebook fan page “Run Duterte Run Movement for 2016 Presidency” is called Manila Live Wire. Those who want to know more about this great piece of news will look into the article and see that it was published on September 17, 2015, which was even before Duterte made up his mind to run for presidency.
Readers who want to further verify whether what this blog was claiming is true would look at other sources. And it turned out there are indeed other sources, like Rappler’s report on the same matter, which was published on June 2015. So at least we’ve verified now that the report about the possible relocation of Japanese firms to the Philippines from China is true.
Manila Live Wire quoted Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines Inc. (JCCIP) vice president Nobuo Fujii, who Rappler was also communicating with via text message.
Rappler quoted Fujii, “As of now, there are about 1,700 Japanese companies in the Philippines. But we continue to receive inquiries from about 200 manufacturers in China, saying they want to relocate here.”
Manila Live Wire sort of wrote the same quote with different figures, though. But there is no doubt the article quoted by the blog is similar to what Rappler wrote.
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As Rappler reported, this news coincided with former President Benigno Aquino III’s state visit to Japan, which wrapped up on June 5. During his visit, Aquino urged Japanese investors to pour their money in the Philippines, encouraging them with an improved business environment.
Fujii noted that these planned relocations from China to the Philippines are likely triggered by “wage increase, historical problems, labor strikes, and so on.” He added that the Philippines is an attractive option to the Japanese firms “because of English-speaking workforce and tax benefits given to investors.”
News about the relocations of Japan manufacturers to the Philippines also surfaced in 2013. Rappler reported that Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Toshinao Urabe that aside from the manufacturers already based in the Philippines, there are many other companies willing to enter the Philippines, noted to be one of the best performing economies in the world.
If these relocations will come true in the years to come, it will certainly be good for the Filipinos. However, it’s just not right to directly attribute this piece of good news to Duterte’s administration because these plans have been years in the making. It was partially due to the improving business condition in the Philippines during Aquino’s administration and the less than optimal conditions in China that our country will possibly be welcoming hundreds of Japanese manufacturers, not due to whatever power Duterte has as the new president.
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