Loren hopes Pinoys will benefit from summit

SENATOR Loren Legarda is hopeful that Filipinos will benefit from the “inclusive growth” goal being pursued by leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

The Philippines is the host for the 2015 APEC meetings that will culminate with the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting this week to be attended by heads of state of 21 member economies.

She looks forward to a successful 2015 APEC summit that would indeed promote inclusive growth and better communities as this year’s theme suggests.

“I am hopeful that with inclusive growth as the main theme of APEC Philippines 2015, it will be more relevant to Filipinos,” said Legarda.

“After all, the real value of APEC does not rest on trade and investment statistics alone, but more importantly on how much its benefits trickle down to the poor,” she said.

“How do we build inclusive economies and communities? We have to capacitate our farmers, fisherfolk, rural industries, and other sectors. We must strengthen our micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) which make up 99% of businesses in the country.

She added: “We already have the laws in place and we have more than enough reason and motivation to make these matters our priorities in the APEC discussions.”

“Inclusive growth means every community, every individual in the country, including rural folk and indigenous peoples, has an opportunity for progress. We must capacitate our people to be equally competitive in meeting the APEC community’s needs for goods and services,” Legarda said.

She said that in order to foster inclusive growth, development must be sustainable and resilient.

“Growth cannot be inclusive if communities suffer again and again from disasters,” she said.

The senator also raised the need to strengthen “inter-economy” cooperation in dealing with disasters.

She said that the whole region will benefit “if we can support each other through strengthened collaborative research, technology transfer, capacity building and knowledge sharing.”

“As part of sustainable development, the promotion of low-emission energy strategy needs to be enhanced and the Philippines can be a showcase in this area by fully developing its renewable energy resources of which it has abundant supply,” she said.

Source: Journal