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Duterte SONA with optimism ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
By Jed Jaleco Del Rosario
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ILOILO City – The Iloilo business community greeted President Rodrigo Duterte’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA) with optimism, expressed Iloilo Business Club executive director Maria Lea Victoria Lara.
The business club official lauded Duterte’s stated goal to expand the country’s manufacturing sector. Lara said that the local business community looks favourably on this policy.
“The President mentioned support or the effort to attract manufacturing companies, so that’s aligned with the thrust of province and city,” Lara said. “And we can attract naman. When we come up with a package, but it has more weight if the national government signals or supports the effort. So the thrust of his administration is in line with ours,” Lara said.
Aside from Duterte’s highlighting of the manufacturing industry, Lara also mentioned that local businesses favor the president’s plan to create a special agency for disaster relief. With natural disasters becoming more and more prevalent, many local business require more support against these conditions.
Lara said that although various government bodies coordinate to fight natural disasters, a dedicated body to deal with such problems does not yet exist.
“Nami gid ya kung may dedicated nga agency nga naka-focus gid ya sa disaster kag paano kita ka recover,” Lara said.
The third major point that business groups liked about Duterte’s SONA is his push for greater infrastructure. Lara cites as an example Duterte’s support for the modernization of the Iloilo Port.
“It’s one of those things nga nadala sa iya nga speech. Dapat may mga cranes, para mas hapos mag-lift sang mga containers. Kag i-expand ang berthings sa port para indi ma-congest,” Lara said.
Aside from the port, Lara also added that business groups are also looking forward to Duterte’s support in modernizing and expanding the local airport, so as to prevent the long term deterioration of the Iloilo International Airport’s facilities./PN
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