Vehicles are typically impounded for having fake, expired or no licenses. A PROMINENT Filipino industry leader says any attempt to boycott Chinese products should be “calibrated” with a view to its potential ending, warning that the boycott could “backfire” on the Philippines.
Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr., president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop), said in an interview over radio dzRH on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, that it’s sometimes good to take a strong stance when necessary “pero dapat calculated naman at alam natin yung ending natin (but it should be calculated and we know what the ending should be).”
Ortiz-Luis’ comments were in reaction to calls to boycott all Chinese companies and products as a sign of protest against China’s continued aggressive actions in Philippine waters.
Most recently, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri on Tuesday, Aug. 8, said the Philippines should follow Vietnam and start looking for other trading partners instead of relying on China.
The solon’s call was in response to Chinese ships’ recent water cannon attack on smaller Philippine vessels delivering supplies to Filipino troops stationed on Ayungin Shoal.
But Ortiz-Luis, who is also the president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc., said a boycott of Chinese products and companies needs to be carefully studied considering that China is today the Philippines’ biggest trading partner.
“Biggest trading partner natin ngayon ay China. Isama mo pa ang Hong Kong, talagang napakalaki, napakalayo nila. Iniwanan na nila US, Japan, both sa import at export natin. Kung tayo’y mag-bo-boycott dapat ay kina-calibrate natin. Eh kung boykotin din tayo?” he said.
(China, together with Hong Kong, is our biggest trading partner in both imports and exports. The US and Japan lag far behind. If we start a boycott, it should be calibrated. What if China also boycotts us?)
The industry chief warned: “Palagay ko ay babagsak ang economiya natin pagka talagang nagkadiinan at maraming factory natin ang hihinto dahil yung mga materiales na ginagamit ay galing din sa China.”
(I think our economy will fall and many factories will close because the materials we use come from China.)
He continued: “Okay lang rin naman ang saber-rattling paminsan-minsan to send a message, pero tingnan natin ang ending. Kaya ba natin yan? ... Inuubasan mo din ng option yung kabila pagka ganoon.”
(It’s okay to resort to saber-rattling occasionally to send a message, but we need to look at the ending. Can we take it? We are also exhausting their options in turn.)
He observed that the Philippines would likely be affected by a counter-boycott from China, while China might not be as affected by a Philippine economic boycott.
“Wala akong nakikitang iindahin ng China pag binoykot sila except sa metals natin.... Palagay ko yun iindahin nila.”
(I don’t see China being affected by our boycott except for our metals, which I think they will feel.)
Ortiz-Luis said the Philippines is not as big as Malaysia or Thailand. “Napakaliit natin kumpara sa China. Hindi din tayo iindahin, pero tayo talagang iindahin natin pag nagkaroon nga ng economic war over yung mga boykotan na yan.”
(We’re too small compared to China. It won’t get hurt, but we will be if an economic war comes about because of the boycott.)
In the end this boycott “might backfire on us,” he said. / PHILEXPORT