Manila, Philippines – For the first time in almost 20 years, the Philippines is chairing and hosting APEC. In anticipation of the APEC Leaders’ Week in November, Asia Society Philippines hosted an introductory dialogue APEC 2015: Connecting, Collaborating, Community last July 9, 2015 at the Asian Institute of Management.

The key speakers, APEC 2015 Senior Officialsʼ Meeting chair Undersecretary Laura Q. del Rosario and APEC National Organizing Council Lead Coordinator for Private Sector Guillermo M. Luz, discussed the importance of hosting APEC from the perspective of the public and private sector, respectively.

In the second part of the program, panelists tackled an aspect of the Philippinesʼ four priority areas: Enhancing the Regional Economic Integration Agenda, Fostering small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) participation in regional and global markets, Investing in human capital development, and Building sustainable and resilient communities.

Panelists included TA Trade Advisory Group CEO Atty. Anthony A. Abad, KickStart Ventures president Minette Navarrete, Technical Education and Skills Development at Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Center for Women chief Maria Clara Ignacio, and Rare Philippines vice-president Rocky Sanchez-Tirona.

Key Takeaways:

• Undersecretary LAURA Q. DEL ROSARIO said that the reason for the Philippines to have APEC in the country is to integrate the nation and its fellow member-economies. The Philippines is proud to have brought investing in human capital development through education as a priority area of this year’s meet. She added that one additional year of schooling predicts a significant increase in annual average growth in the long run.
• GUILLERMO M. LUZ provided a private sector perspective to the discussion, stating that with improved infrastructure and competitiveness rankings, the country now has livable and sustainable cities. Following the high number of tourists visiting the country, he said that, “we have to be de facto ambassadors of the country for those who visit us.” Furthermore, he articulated that “APEC is built for Filipinos, built for us, built for the long haul.”
• ATTY. ANTHONY A. ABAD stressed that the objective of APEC is inclusivity, meaning anyone with the ideas, opportunities, creativity, may include him/herself in the productivity of the region. Regional Economic Integration aims to eliminate barriers to trade and investment. APEC 2015 is the opportunity for the Philippines to break the barriers, and bring in inclusivity. Furthermore, he added that there are currently inefficiency in policy regulations. At present, he said that they are currently building a road to regulatory coherence, meaning harmonized international standards on economic policies.
• MINETTE NAVARRETE encouraged the audience to explore start-ups as a career option, particularly digital start-ups as these require minimal capital and offer more flexibility. She gave some advice for budding entrepreneurs. She emphasized that what matters is not really the idea itself, but the execution, stating “Execution determines the level of success”. Data is another important tool – An idea should be “driven by insight and hardened through validation.”

• MARIA CLARA IGNACIO provided information regarding the skills training for women provided by TESDA. Pointing out that the TESDA certification is “one’s passport to employment,” she said, “Development is for all. Men and women should have the same opportunities to enjoy life. We should race from the bottom to raise the country.”
• ROCKY SANCHEZ-TIRONA: We have 891 coastal municipalities, with 6 million Filipinos depending on the oceans and seas for their livelihood. The oceans that sustained our parents and grandparents has declined. We really have to help our fishermen become more sustainable and resilient. We ensure places to have marine-protected areas, teach fisher folk to monitor them, coordinate and work with respective local government units.
• Professor FEDERICO M. MACARANAS ended with a synthesis, saying “With forty percent of the global population, fifty-five percent of the global economy are held by APEC member-economies., you would want to be part of a peaceful Asia-Pacific economic community.” He added that developed economies need to engage the poor economies so that they will be part of revolutionary economic policies. Lastly, Macaranas reminded the audience with the essence of APEC, saying “APEC is about cooperation. You have to compete in a cooperative way. You don't have to slash each other’s throats. You may be a Filipino, but you can think APEC. You may have a Taiwan passport, but you can think APEC. And with that, we connect and collaborate as one APEC community.”

The dialogue was made possible through the support of Asian Institute of Management, Commune Café+Bar, Coca-Cola Philippines, and media partners BusinessWorld and Eagle Broadcasting Corporation.