Special Speech of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for the APEC CEO Summit

Distinguished leaders;
Esteemed delegates;

Ladies and gentlemen,

Magandang araw po sa inyong lahat.

Yeoreobun annyeonghasibnikka

I extend my warm greetings to our friends from the Republic of Korea (ROK) and across the Asia-Pacific region.

It is both an honor and a privilege to stand before you as we gather to shape a shared vision for an open, dynamic, resilient, and peaceful Asia-Pacific region.

Today, we meet at a pivotal juncture –one defined not only by immense challenges but also by vast opportunities.

The theme of ABAC 2025, “Bridge. Business. Beyond.” is a call for economies to work together to transcend boundaries, deepen regional integration, and create a future that brings real and meaningful benefits for all.

As we pursue these goals, the Philippines’ vision for a strong, innovation-driven economy and its strategic embrace of emerging technologies will be vital in driving long-term regional progress.

Throughout the Asia-Pacific, we are witnessing how digital transformation is reshaping economies, enhancing resilience, and expanding opportunities.

The Philippines is investing in expanded digital infrastructure, prioritizing underserved and rural areas to ensure connectivity reaches all Filipinos.

At the same time, we are enhancing cyber resilience and data governance to build trust, security, and confidence in our digital systems.

Building on these investments, we are ensuring that no Filipino is left behind in the digital economy.

Complementing this, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Bagong Pilipinas Marketplace connects MSMEs directly to consumers, opening further avenues for growth.

To sustain this momentum and prepare our people for the digital future, we are simultaneously reinforcing our policy on education and workforce development.

Through Administrative Order No. 36, we established the Education and Workforce Development Group in August 2025 to better coordinate these vital efforts.

We are supporting the development of a domestic plan to strengthen the critical alignment between education and workforce needs.

Furthermore, we are advancing transnational higher education through various initiatives together with various countries.

These include the implementation of the Transnational Higher Education Act, and the forging of a bilateral agreement with Cambodia  signed in September, focusing on academic and student exchanges, as well as a partnership with Australia for academic collaborations and research.

At the heart of this digital evolution lies Artificial Intelligence (AI), a transformative technology guided by our National AI Strategy Roadmap and key legislation.

AI not only enhances public services and streamlines trade but also amplifies MSMEs’ ability to innovate, automate processes, and make smarter data-driven decisions, driving inclusive economic competitiveness across the Philippines and the region.

To support our ambitions, we have enacted critical reforms to improve the ease of doing business and encourage more investment.

We updated the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law with a new Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code that streamlines approvals and boosts private sector participation.

Executive Order No. 18 established green lanes for strategic investments by creating centralized coordination and expedited approval processes.

Republic Act No. 12252 liberalizes the lease of private lands by foreign investors, extending lease terms up to 99 years, while Republic Act No. 12289 accelerates and ensures fairness in government land acquisition for infrastructure projects.

Furthermore, Republic Act No. 12253 sets a stable and transparent fiscal regime for large-scale metallic mining, providing foreign investors with legal certainty and a predictable tax environment.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) OneSEC Zuper Easy Registration Online (ZERO) Facility. These now facilitate swift registration of foreign companies intending to operate domestically.

Our actions are focused on delivering deep, institutional, and business-friendly reforms that will allow us to unlock private capital and sustain competitiveness.

These reforms are designed to transform the investment landscape and improve operational efficiency.

Domestically, we have enacted the landmark Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy, we shorten that to (CREATE MORE) Act.

This law introduces a globally competitive and predictable tax regime, lowering our
corporate income tax rate and offering significantly extended incentives of up to 40 years for highly desirable, strategic investments.

Complementing this, the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA) streamlines the tax system for financial transactions, reducing the stock transaction tax from 0.6% to 0.1%, making equity investment more accessible and capital markets more efficient.

Furthermore, in partnership with the private sector, we launched the Philippine Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Reform Guidebook. This  identifies and drives priority reforms across the entire business lifecycle, ensuring our processes align with global benchmarks like the World Bank’s B-READY Report.

Lastly, we are actively strengthening our Inter-Agency Technical Working Group on Sustainable Finance (ITSF), also known as our “Green Force”. 

Through this, we aim to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Finance Roadmap, develop green financing guidelines under our new Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Code, and establish a green project pipeline, thus channeling investment towards climate-resilient and environmentally sound development.

Along with these reforms, the Philippines also actively advances its integration in
regional trade agreements such as through the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and ongoing negotiations for a Philippines-European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and a Philippines-Chile Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

We are likewise pursuing membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

These agreements are key to fostering cooperation, innovation, and rules-based integration, enabling predictable business environments, harmonized standards, and transparent supply chains.

We are committed to maintaining high standards in our trade policies.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We view the business community as an essential partner in our national economic narrative.

While the government is focused on creating the enabling environment through stable policy, sound regulations, and strategic infrastructure, it is the private sector that moves capital. creates jobs, introduces technology, and delivers meaningful, lasting impact on the ground.

In the Philippines, engagements with the private sector, particularly through our Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC), have evolved into government actions
in the areas of digital transformation, infrastructure development, and sustainable energy.

As a model of good governance, public-private sector cooperation helps align the government’s work in many sectors to deliver quick and concrete results.

We value your insights and we welcome your ideas.

We are fully prepared to work with you in transforming those ideas into real and tangible results.

With these, the Philippines welcomes deeper collaboration with industry leaders to scale digital solutions, develop inclusive and sustainable business models, and build resilient value chains.

Strong public-private partnerships and regional integration are essential to harness new technologies and create a connected, future-ready Asia-Pacific.

Businesses must not only benefit from progress but actively co-create the future by leading in technology development, supporting startups, embedding sustainability, and upholding good corporate governance that builds trust and accountability.

Despite progress, barriers such as regulatory fragmentation, uneven digital infrastructure, and supply chain vulnerabilities persist, hindering full economic integration and inclusive growth.

To overcome these challenges, the private sector must intensify its role in policy advocacy and cross-border standardization.

While governments set policies, businesses bring the operational expertise and technology to harmonize systems.

We call on industry leaders to share best practices, advance unified regional standards for data exchange, and co-develop interoperable digital tools that foster a transparent and inclusive digital ecosystem, creating a level playing field where enterprises of all sizes can compete and collaborate effectively across the region.

I am very pleased to attend the CEO Summit once again this year.

I believe APEC is uniquely positioned to significantly strengthen engagement and collaboration with regional partners and fora, such as ASEAN, around shared objectives.

As our economies are deeply interconnected, our progress depends on how well we collaborate, how effectively we harmonize policies, and how seamlessly we integrate our markets.

Governments and the private sector must unite to create a sustainable, inclusive, and digitally empowered future.

Let us move forward together—bridging businesses and going beyond—to ensure growth benefits every person and we do not leave anyone behind.

As the Philippines takes on the ASEAN Chairship in 2026, we stand ready to build a more connected, competitive, and sustainable regional economy—driven by deeper cooperation and shared growth.

We look forward to your support as we lead ASEAN next year, with a key priority being the signing and rollout of the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement, a game-changing step toward a seamless, 2-trillion dollar regional digital market by 2030.

Today, our message is clear:

The Philippines is open, ready, and eager to do business with all of you.

The Philippines offers more than just a strategic location at the heart of the region.

We bring a dynamic workforce, a thriving innovation ecosystem, and an unwavering commitment to sustainable and inclusive prosperity.

Let me conclude by warmly inviting you to visit the Philippines next year as we proudly chair ASEAN.

Our Chairship will advance stronger APEC–ASEAN alignment and promote coherent policies, resilient institutions, and broader opportunities for all.

We welcome our partners from across the region and we invite the business community to join us in shaping a connected, resilient, and opportunity-driven Asia-Pacific.

Thank you.

Maraming salamat.

Yeoreobun gamsadeulibnida.

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