Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez (2nd from right) joins President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in the ribbon-cutting rites for the Grand Launching of Pier 88 in Liloan, Cebu on Saturday afternoon. Also in the photo are (from left) Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco and President and CEO of Topline Group of Companies, Mr. Eugene Erik Lim (right).
PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said he envisions the launch of the Pier 88 project in Cebu province as an important piece of the puzzle in pushing for connectivity, and seamless travel and international trade.
In his speech during the launch of Pier 88 in Liloan, Cebu, the President said the seaport project will be a springboard for bigger undertakings in the future.
“Today, we put in place a very important piece of that puzzle; that puzzle that we are trying to put together so that our connectivity, not only amongst the islands of the Philippines, but even amongst our international friends and visitors and tourists, is strengthened and made easier and more accessible,” Marcos said.
“These are the important aspects that we have to attend to if we are going to transform our economy into the post-pandemic economy. So, there is much that we will achieve. There are activities of tourism, job generation, energy efficiency and sustainability,” he added, noting that the project would not only be good for Liloan and nearby islands in Cebu but also for the entire country.
The President said such kinds of projects are being discussed by member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the longest time.
“The concept that ASEAN leaders have been talking about so as to develop the economies of the ASEAN Member States is a concept of connectivity. We have used the word connectivity merely to describe digital connectivity,” President Marcos noted.
He pointed out that the meaning of connectivity has expanded to include not only the digital realm, but also connectivity in terms of land, sea, and air transport and travel.
“We have seen, all of us have seen all the problems with supply chain networks and that is why we have focused, all of us have focused on making that connectivity smoother, more streamlined, more accessible and easier to use and therefore making the ease of doing business not such a difficult effort for those who would like to do business in any way whatsoever,” the President added.
He also said that the project will not only improve the local business in Cebu, in terms of tourism, but also boost the economic activity in the entire country.
“This is in consonance with the discussions that we have been making with other countries, especially around ASEAN, even including all the way up to Europe, in that we are going to work together to increase our tourism volume and this is, again, this may seem as just one single port, (but) it is a very good development,” he said.
