PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte, who is currently in Vietnam for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum, pushed Thursday, November 9, for “remedial” measures that will address the adverse effects of globalization.
“Globalization by itself is a deprivation of some and those people who will fall left behind. There has to be some remedial measures,” the President said in a keynote address delivered at the Apec CEO Summit Thursday.
Duterte noted that globalization has unfavorable impact to the destitute as there is a tendency that “the richer would become richer and the poorer would become poorer.”
He cited the United States (US) as the “first victim of globalization” after American business firms moved the bulk of their operations to China, when the latter opened its doors to foreign investments.
The President said it was only China that benefitted as “all sorts of goods and services really went to Shanghai and started to develop China.”
He also lamented the brain drain that resulted from globalization, noting that brilliant Filipinos have decided to go to the other countries, such as the US or the Middle East, where “there are a lot of investments.”
“They tend to gather in places where there is already economy that is tight and leaving behind countries that are bereft of the talents,” Duterte said.
“That leaves us behind in terms of how long it would take you to complete a project because then you have to scrape the bottom (of the barrel) to find out who can work with us. These are the effects of globalization,” he added.
Duterte said negative effects of globalization can only be solved with the help of “bigger countries.”
As this year’s chair of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Duterte said he would also bring up concerns on globalization during the regional bloc’s summit in Manila.
“The bigger countries must also try to help. I will bring this matter forcefully to the Asean summit. We have to have integration, cohesiveness, and we must act as one,” he said.
Duterte likewise said individuals from poverty-stricken communities should be coached on how to improve their talents.
“It behooves upon us really to help the others develop their own capacity building unless it is done that you have to educate also the others who are left behind and teach them the digital age, the advantages of it,” the President said.
“They will remain where they are. And the richer would become richer and the poorer would become poorer unless things are changed for those who are left behind,” he added. (SunStar Philippines)