THE American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (AmCham) said the outcome of the US presidential election this week will have little effect on the Philippine bilateral relationship with the US.
“I think that the relationship between the US and the Philippines is strong. It probably doesn’t matter too much. I mean, it didn’t matter so much who is the President of the Philippines. I would say it’s better now under Marcos than it was under his predecessor,” AmCham Executive Director Ebb Hinchliffe told BusinessWorld in chance remarks.
“Overall, we still saw really good investment into the Philippines during all presidencies. So I think no matter who’s in Washington or who’s in Malacañang, it’s not going to make a whole lot of difference. We’re going to have good relations between the two countries,” he added.
He cited indicators like business missions visiting the Philippines, including two delegations representing industries like renewable energy, smart cities, agriculture, and education visiting in the third and fourth weeks of October.
“The one coming next, though, is exciting because, remember, in March, we brought over the Secretary of Commerce? She’s sending another group on November 12th-14th. They’re focused more on smart cities,” he said.
“It’s really exciting. They are bringing about 30 people, and these are really the people that are looking for investment,” he added.
The mission will be headed by US Undersecretary of Commerce for International Trade Marisa Lago, he said.
“She’s second only to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. So it tells you the importance that the Biden administration is putting on the Philippines,” he added.
Aside from the US Department of Commerce’s mission, he said that the chamber is also expecting business missions from Texas and Tennessee to come this year.
“It just hasn’t been finalized… the next big one will be from San Diego. They’ll be here in February, and again, I’m thinking this would be around 30 to 40 people,” Mr. Hinchliffe said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
