FOR President Marcos, one foreign trip can lead to another.
Last November, he attended the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Thailand which is quite important for the Philippines, since we are at the center of this organization in terms of geography and economics, and while modern tech allows the President to talk with other heads of state in the region, nothing can replace a face-to-face encounter with other leaders.
A breakfast meeting in Bangkok with World Economic Forum founder and executive director Klaus Schwab resulted in the WEF official’s formal invitation for President Marcos Jr. to attend the next forum in Davos, Switzerland. Interviewed by reporters later, Bongbong Marcos said he most likely will decline the WEF invitation because “traveling is too tiring” and he would want to spend more time in the Philippines to work on the nation’s many problems.
‘Malacañang Palace … justified this trip, saying “the WEF is an excellent opportunity for the Philippines to explore new investment, trade, and infrastructure systems amid the economic downturn.”’
This wish is of course negated as the Chief Executive left the country yesterday (Sunday, Jan. 15) for Switzerland’s luxury Alpine ski resort of Davos, his second trip to Europe, the first being Belgium. He also made a state visit to China during the first week of the year. At the rate he is traveling, he might be reasonably called a peripatetic president by certain observers.
Malacañang Palace, speaking through Press Briefer Daphne Oseña-Paez, justified this trip, saying “the WEF is an excellent opportunity for the Philippines to explore new investment, trade, and infrastructure systems amid the economic downturn.”
The event also allows President Marcos to push the country’s priorities, particularly on food, energy, security, digitalization, climate action, attracting investments, and promoting beneficial trade, among others. The forum is likewise a chance for the Philippines to partner with other countries, businesses, civil society, and other stakeholders and to collaborate with the WEF on their initiatives.
Enough of the bafflegab, Ms. Paez. The reason for Davos is Marcos’ desire to tout to the world his pet idea, the Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF) which has been railroaded at the House of Representatives in less than three weeks but still has to pass the Senate.
Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Carlos Sorreta was more forthright when he said, “Global and business leaders will be there, and they will hear it directly from the President — what fundamentals that we have, that lead us to decide that we should have a sovereign wealth fund.”
While Marcos and Speaker Martin Romualdez might want to exult the Filipino version of a wealth fund, and in Davos yet, what is there to brag about a paltry $1.37 billion in an audience like the WEF?
The Palace boasted that Marcos was the only ASEAN leader invited at the WEF, giving this forum of billionaires and world leaders its undeserved respectability. Many people have challenged the well-hyped forum for its empty rhetoric, even as Dutch historian Rutger Bregman continued to call out these billionaires for tax avoidance. The CNBC reported that the event has been sharply criticized in recent years for being out of touch, ineffective, and irrelevant.
We just hope Marcos would return from Davos with real gains to report to justify the trip.
