No shake-up in financial market in Duterte admin

The camp of PDP-LABAN standard bearer and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte assured stock market traders that there will be no shake-up in the financial market under the former’s administration.
“The perception of uncertainty always come during the last few weeks of the election but under the Duterte administration, the stock and financial market will be protected and it will be business as usual,” Duterte spokesperson Peter Laviña said.
“Fostering fear and uncertainty is part of the scare tactic and black propaganda against presidential front-runner Rodrigo Duterte,” he added.
Duterte, who is running with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano as his vice presidential candidate, has repeatedly said he will provide business the right and proper atmosphere to prosper without sacrificing the general welfare of the people.
Laviña then drew attention to Duterte’s “Exhibit A” on how Davao City grew from lethargy during the 1980s to become one of the most progressive cities in the country and listed as one of the most livable in Asia.
He said the PDP-LABAN standard bearer very early has exhibited a very clear business policy.
Laviña recalled that Duterte set out to clean up Davao City of crime, urban rebels, street eyesores and traffic to make the city conducive for business when he became city mayor in 1988.
Davao City then was an experimental area of urban guerillas and the streets were dominated by crime syndicates led mostly by scalawag cops and soldiers enjoying their power during martial law.
He recalls the mayor saying, “Let me handle the cleanup, and the business sector handle the economy.”
Since then, Duterte has a clear policy to make investments conducive and welcome in his city.
In 1992 upon the passage of the Local Government Code, Duterte pioneered in local investment promotion by launching the “Invest in Davao” project.
His basic guide was simple: “We welcome investments for as long as they do not abuse our labor, women, children and the environment.”
It won support from the USAID program Private Investments & Trade Opportunities in the Philippines (PITO-P) in crafting the first-ever Investments Incentive Code by a local government.
It is now replicated by many LGUs throughout the country.
Laviña also cited the assistance of the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank in cutting red tape in business permit processing in Davao City.
This led to the mayor’s firm policy to approve such permits within 72 hours and to impose strict discipline on city employees against graft and corruption.
He also cited the pioneering effort of Duterte to forge trade relations with Manado and Bitung, the airport and seaport cities of North Sulawesi, just south of Mindanao in 1994.
This led to the formation later of the East ASEAN Growth Area (EAGA) sub-regional growth concept in the ASEAN region that includes Brunei, the eastern parts of Indonesia and Malaysia and Mindanao and Palawan in the Philippines.
Today, Davao City is one of the top investment and tourism destinations in the country and often cited as one of the top areas for business process outsourcing because of its good infrastructure and steady source of skilled workers.
Laviña said before, Davao City had marked labor unrest with frequent strikes by workers but now, the city is almost labor strike-free.
He said Duterte has a vision for the economic progress of the country.
His platform for agricultural, industrial, technological advancement and the development of the various regions of the country through federalism has a firm basis in his own experiences in Davao City. (PNA)