The Development Academy of the Philippines, through its Council of Fellows, held the third of its series of roundtable discussions for the year last May 31with focus on strategic foreign policy and the development of Mindanao marking the activity, which is the Academy’s contribution to mainstreaming public discourse on development as well as a means of touching base with other institutions, scholars, government leaders and other stakeholders..
DAP President Antonio D. Kalaw Jr., in his welcome remarks, noted that the focus assumes greater meaning with a new administration taking over the national government in one month.
“In 30 days, there will be a changing of the guards in the national leadership. For the administration of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, foreign policy and development would be spearheaded by Mindanao, which brings us to the significance of this afternoon’s roundtable discussion,” said Kalaw.
New foreign policy pushed
Dr. Alan T. Ortiz, vice president of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations who was the forum’s resource speaker, called for a new foreign policy framework and an accelerated infrastructure development program for Mindanao in his presentation “Strategic Foreign Policy Recommendations to the New Administration 2016-2022.” He proposed a framework geared towards poverty eradication, taking advantage of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations pivot, and establishing defense and security treaties.
As for development in Mindanao, he proposed a five-pointed “star infrastructure program,” which includes the areas of power-water, transportation (air-sea-land), housing-human resources, broadband internet, and defense and security.
Three challenges
Ortiz concluded his lecture by issuing three challenges to the incoming administration. First, he said that foreign policy initiatives should be geared towards poverty eradication within the decade. Second, he proposed that the ASEAN pivot should be ringed by a “network of strategic alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia, the United States, and even China.” Third, he batted to “reinforce the role of Mindanao as spearhead” of the star infrastructure program.
Ortiz’s past work has given him a wide experience in both the security and business sectors. He served as assistant director-general of the National Security Council and Undersecretary to the President for the Build-Operate-Transfer Center (now Public-Private-Partnership Center). He is currently the president and chief operating officer of SMC Power Holdings Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation. – Ben Oliver M. Matias