Building a legacy beyond political cycles
President Marcos has under two years left in his term. What will be remembered will not be so much the political noise that surrounded his administration, but the tangible and measurable economic benefits it delivered to the Filipino people.
We already have the essential components to become an economic powerhouse: a geostrategic location, abundant critical natural resources, and a young population that can provide a skilled workforce and growing consumer base.
What remains is an active, strategic push toward industries that can optimize these inherent strengths. We must build investor confidence, mobilize foreign capital, encourage domestic investment, and boost productive economic activity.
Investments create productive capacity and generate jobs that sustain the consumer economy. New businesses and industries provide employment and income, which in turn support consumption and further economic activity. This reinforcing cycle can attract more domestic and foreign investment and, ultimately, advance the national interest.
Today, the administration has a major opportunity to pursue investment-led, job-generating growth. The Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) and Pax Silica are two initiatives that can connect our existing advantages to international capital, technology, and markets while supporting stronger and more resilient growth.
The LEC, bringing together the Philippines, the United States, Japan, and eight other like-minded countries plus the European Union, seeks to mobilize investment along the Subic-Clark-Manila-Batangas corridor.
Investments in energy, transport and logistics, digital connectivity, and advanced manufacturing can improve infrastructure, lower business costs, create jobs, and strengthen our integration into regional and global supply chains.
Luzon already anchors the Philippine economy, generating roughly half of national gross domestic product while linking major ports, industrial zones, urban centers, and consumer markets. Yet it still has considerable room to grow. Better infrastructure and connectivity can make it more competitive while spreading economic opportunities across industries and communities.
LEC investments can also strengthen economic security and supply chain resilience. As we experienced during the pandemic and succeeding global crises, diversified and reliable supply chains are crucial.
This is where cooperation with trusted partners becomes strategically important. It can give the Philippines greater access to capital, technology, markets, and critical inputs that would be difficult to develop at scale on our own. This can position the country as a more important node in global supply chains, particularly in semiconductors and electronics, energy, critical minerals, and advanced manufacturing.
Pax Silica complements this effort. The initiative has expanded to 24 participating countries, with the 27 member countries of the EU also joining, creating a broad network of trusted technology, investment, and supply-chain partners.
Within the LEC, the planned 4,000-acre artificial intelligence-native industrial acceleration hub and Economic Security Zone in New Clark City can support advanced manufacturing and technology-intensive industries by leveraging the corridor’s infrastructure, workforce, connectivity, and market access.
The gains should extend well beyond investment. These initiatives can create skilled, better-paying jobs, support local suppliers, facilitate technology transfer, and allow Filipino businesses and workers to participate in higher-value activities.
They can also build on the Philippines’ established strength in semiconductors and electronics. Access to advanced facilities, research, talent, supply chains, and investors can support locally developed electronics, medical devices, electric vehicle components, semiconductor products, batteries, robotics, and other technologies while strengthening Filipino employment and local enterprises.
But investments must remain consistent with Philippine laws and safeguards covering strategic assets, critical infrastructure, land use, and other national security and economic interests.
Philippine interests must remain the primary consideration. The goal should be mutual prosperity with our partners without compromising sovereignty or national priorities. If we can secure both economic opportunity and national interest, that would indeed be a legacy worth building beyond any single political cycle.
—————-
Dindo Manhit is the founder and CEO of Stratbase Group.
