LONDON - President Arroyo met with the Filipino Community in the United Kingdom in a brunch organized by the Philippine Embassy at the Intercontinental Hotel on Park Lane in London.

In her speech, she noted the achievements of her government especially in keeping the economy afloat and resilient particularly during the global recession.

“Thirty-four uninterrupted quarters or more than eight years of uninterrupted growth, a first in the Philippines at kahit na sa buong mundo, konti lang ang nakakakamit nito. And it is this achievement that enables us to withstand the recession that is now raging around us,” said Mrs. Arroyo.  

Mrs. Arroyo also stated that the series of meetings during her visit with business leaders were aimed at attracting more business investments in the Philippines, which she said had earned positive outcome.  

She reported that the Bronzeoak group, which built the first bioethanol plant in the Philippines, will set up another plant in Capas, Tarlac. As the ‘favorite business outsourcing and call center destination of the British Firms,’ Arroyo said HSBC is moving more of its outsourcing requirements in the Philippines.

“Since I led a BPO investment mission here about four years ago, at noong panahong iyun, nong ipinakilala natin sa mga Ingles yung mga BPO at call center attractions natin ay ginawa nila ang Pilipinas na outsourcing destination of the year for British firms at patuloy-tuloy pa rin ito.  Yun ay bunga ng isa sa ating apat na biyahe dito sa Englatera,” Mrs. Arroyo said.

She also reported the signing of the extradition treaty and mutual legal assistance treaty between the UK and the Philippines and thanked the United Kingdom’s government for assisting and supporting the ongoing peace efforts in Mindanao.  
 
Members of the Filipino community in the UK were most pleased when Arroyo commended the Filipinos in the United Kingdom for their professionalism and dedication in their jobs.

“Nakakatuwa na ang mga Kababayan natin dito sa UK ay patuloy na umaani nga papuri sa inyong pagiging propesyunal, organisado at ang inyong kaaya-ayang ugali,” she said.  

“Saan mang kumpanya kayo naglilingkod at naghahanap buhay, humahanga  ang bansang United Kingdom sa inyong dedikasyon. Salamat sa inyong lahat dahil kayo ang ambassador ng ating bansa at ng taumbayan,” Mrs. Arroyo added.

The President’s speech earned various reactions from Filipinos who attended the gathering.

“I think because of the programs initiated by this administration, it is reaping the benefits slowly. I think compared with our other Asian neighbors, we have faired very well especially in the past couple of years,” said Aries Aquitana an MBA student at Oxford Business School.

“It had some interesting things to say but having been to the Philippines quite recently, perhaps some of the issues that I saw when I was there were not addressed. In terms of poverty, it’s still existing, it’s still very much there,” said Tim Chaundy of Philippine Generations.

“In times of crisis, the Filipino people are very resilient. Talagang pursigido tayo kumpara sa ibang countries and because of that, I think we are doing very well,” said Emee Estacioa, university lecturer based in Keele.

Among those present during the FilCom meeting were DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo, Deputy Speaker Girlie Villarosa, Press Sec.  Cerge Remonde, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, Pampanga Rep. Dong Gonzales, Rep. Dato Arroyo, Quezon Rep. Danny Suarez, Pampanga Rep. Ana Bondoc, and Chairman Rey Chua of the Commission on Information and Communication Technology.

Mrs. Arroyo left the UK on Sunday to proceed to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.