MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on May 31 assured foreign investors and donors that their money is safe under his administration as he wooed businessmen in Tokyo.
Touting a corruption-free investment climate, Duterte said businessmen planning to invest in the Philippines need not be afraid as he would keep an open-line of communication for them.
“Is my money safe? In my term, it is safe,” he said in his keynote address at the 25th International Conference on the Future of Asia in Tokyo.
“There is no corruption I have killed all of them already – ah some but not all,” he said.
During Duterte’s visit, the Philippine delegation to Japan signed 26 agreements valued at P300 billion and estimated to generate 82,000 jobs.
The Philippine leader also assured countries and international organizations that sent aid for the rehabilitation of war-torn Marawi City that their donations are all accounted for.
“Construction is ongoing, do not worry. All the donors of the country, your money is in the bank. There are all pledges and the money Japan and everybody contributed are all accounted for,” Duterte said.
He explained that the government has yet to touch foreign assistance it received as Manila exhausted its own funds first.
“We have not spent the foreign aid assistance, we spent first our own money. I assure you the bank has the money, central bank of the Philippines,” he said.
Islamic State-inspired militants took siege of Marawi in May 2017, prompting Duterte to declare martial law in Mindanao. The military rule is set to expire in December this year.
The siege left at least 1,000 people dead, including terrorists, soldiers, and civilians.
Government said it would cover expenses for damaged public infrastructure in Marawi City despite Duterte’s statement that he might leave it up to businessmen. (ABS-CBN News)
