THE COUNTRY’S labor sector is hopeful that Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s commitment to support infrastructure projects in the Philippines will usher in foreign investments and spur job creation.
In a statement on Sunday, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) welcomed Japan’s pledge to aid in the country’s defense and economic recovery. “Prime Minister Kishida’s state visit will signal an intensified focus on bringing in Japanese foreign direct investments as well as reinvigorated official development assistance,” TUCP president and House Deputy Speaker Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza said.
“More foreign investments translate to hundreds of thousands of new, permanent, and decent jobs with security of tenure and living wages,” he added.
Mr. Kishida had said Japan will continue supporting the Marcos administration’s Build, Better, More program on infrastructure, including the Dalton Pass (a mountain pass in Central Luzon), and the Metro Manila Subway.
Mr. Mendoza said the TUCP hopes that the development assistance from Japan will also cover the proposed national railway system which will connect regional and provincial agro-industrial hubs to “further create new jobs, ensure food security, [and] decongest urban metropolitan areas by promoting rural development.” — Jomel R. Paguian
