Governor Matthew Manotoc led the Investment delegation to Hawaii and California. The nine-member delegation from Ilocos Norte arrived in Honolulu on March 10 and departed for California on March 14. Also joining them were local government and business leaders from Ilocos Sur.
While in the islands, the delegation met with community groups whose roots are from the Ilocos region and business leaders who are doing business with the Philippines, or who plan to invest in the country.
A welcome reception attended by close to 250 guests was hosted by Hawaii Governor Josh Green and First Lady Jamie Green at the historic Washington Place last Monday, March 11 before a closed-door meeting with Hawaii’s government officials.
The guests were given a tour of the former home of one of Hawai’i’s reigning monarchs. A sumptuous buffet dinner was served complete with the ubiquitous suckling pig called lechon.
On Tuesday, March 12 an investment presentation and dialogue was initiated by the Ilocos Norte delegation with a very limited group of pre-screened individuals at the Philippine Consulate.
The business symposium, held on March 13, at the Hawai’i Convention Center attracted a diverse local audience from both business and non-profit sectors, government officials from both State and City and County governments, and delegates from the Philippines.
Four panels discussed topics of interest. Panel A’s theme was on workforce and the need to recruit more workers for Hawaii, and how Filipinos support the world’s labor pool. (It was noted that sakadas were the first OFWs). For Panel B, the participants emphasized that instead of “giving them fish, teach them how to fish” — a clear endorsement of “trade not aid” as a way to share linkages with sister provinces.
Panel C discussed the possible public-private partnerships in infrastructure development and achieving sustainability through the use of renewable energy sources, as well as in mitigating hazardous sites. The use of new technology was also explored as well as possible partnerships with design professionals and contractors to work on US-funded projects in the Philippines.
Panel D looked at how tourism can strengthen ties, especially for second-generation Filipino Americans as they rediscover roots in their parents’ homeland.
In his speeches during the short visit to Hawai’i, Governor Manotoc thanked the mostly Ilocano-speaking audience for the support showered on his grandfather—former president Ferdinand Marcos—and his family and friends who were exiled in the islands soon after the People Power events at EDSA in 1986. He enjoined the Ilocanos to return to the province and bring investments as well as their expertise and energy back to Ilocos Norte.
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