SALT LAKE CITY, 21 March 2022 – Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Frank R. Ferrer participated in the 4th Utah Diplomatic Conference on International Trade Relations, organized by the Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, Utah.
The conference, which carried the theme, “Lessons Learned from COVID-19 and Ukraine: A Global Perspective,” was attended by representatives from 27 countries. Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox keynoted the conference.
The conference included panel discussions where Consul General Ferrer shared the Philippines’ experience in responding to the pandemic. He outlined the programs that the Government implemented to address the pandemic, including the passage of important measures to curb infection and foster social protection, as well as economic growth.
“The Philippine Government responded to the pandemic by enacting necessary laws and implementing these to address the crisis. The Government also sustained public investments in infrastructure and continued its economic policy reforms that have begun even before the pandemic,” said Consul General Ferrer.
He cited the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Republic Act 11469), which declared a national emergency over the entire country and granted emergency powers to the President to better respond to the pandemic, the establishment of the Covid-19 Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, vaccination program for the populace, continuing public investment in infrastructure under the “Build, Build, Build” program, the approval of a Comprehensive Tax Reform program, including the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act, and the provision of social assistance for the poor and vulnerable groups worth over US$ 4 billion, among others. He added that signs of the country’s economic recovery include a GDP growth of 7.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 and a full-year GDP growth of 5.6 percent for 2021.
In terms of the situation in Ukraine, Consul General Ferrer read excerpts from the Philippine statement on Ukraine, which calls on the international community to reaffirm its commitment to the Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes.
Consul General Ferrer and the other members of the Utah Consular Corps were also able to meet with Utah State legislators, Salt Lake City Department of Economic Development, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, World Trade Center, members of the Utah private sector, among others. The UVU is a public university in Orem, Utah, which is currently led by its first female president, Filipino-American Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez. END
