Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 19) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is back home from his four-day official visit to Japan, where he gained new investment pledges worth ₱14.5 billion.
Marcos left for Tokyo on Friday to attend the commemorative summit on the 50th year of cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan.
The president and his delegation arrived in Manila at 10:38 p.m. on Monday, according to the Presidential Communications Office.
Marcos said the new investment pledges will create over 15,750 additional jobs for Filipino workers.
That is on top of the 9,700 new jobs generated from the ₱169.7 billion in capital funneled into the Philippine economy from his February visit in Tokyo.
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Overall, the country has accumulated a combined ₱771.6 billion or approximately $14 billion in pledges from Japanese investors from the president’s February and December visits.
Marcos said the significant amount of investment is seen to create around 40,200 jobs in the Philippines.
The president also announced the signing of two memoranda of cooperation (MOC) with Japan during his visit: one between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, and the other between the two countries’ coast guards.
Marcos also attended the Asia Zero Emissions Community (AZEC) Leaders’ Meeting in Tokyo where he informed partner countries on Philippines initiatives towards promoting clean energy transition.
\”I highlighted our experience in promoting clean energy projects such as first wind farms in Southeast Asia in 2003 during my term as governor of Ilocos Norte,\” he said.
He also invited Japan to invest in the country’s renewable energy industry.
Throughout the summit and other related events, Marcos said he discussed with other leaders the future of ASEAN-Japan relations.
