By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter
FOREIGN BUYERS of Philippine products are beginning to raise concerns about corruption in Philippine government projects, the Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines (FOBAP) said.
“Everybody is now seeing these headlines. It has reached our foreign buyers. And because they are dealing with us, they are very worried about these kinds of things,” according to FOBAP President Robert M. Young, speaking to BusinessWorld via phone on Monday.
“We are in a situation right now where there are two setbacks happening at the same time — the Trump tariffs and the political noise,” he added.
“The political noise is compounding the impact of the reciprocal tariffs, so it’s like a double whammy for the exporters, a very powerful blow to the industry,” he added.
He said that some buyers are even asking whether it is still safe to order from the Philippines.
“So these are not sending a good signal to foreign buyers, more so to the would-be investors,” he added.
He said exporters are hoping the government takes decisive action against corruption in public works.
“Our plea to the government is to have an outright solution, a concrete remedy to say that we are on top of things,” he said.
“Orders are being postponed due to this disturbance … So I hope they understand that the situation is harming the industry, all the industries that are exporting or that deal with the international market,” he added.
He said that exporters see the creation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to investigate deficient or non-existent flood control projects as a step in the right direction.
“But it is not enough. They should enumerate the steps right now … there should be an order that these people be punished,” he said.
