JAZA, WB on public infra spending

I watched Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (JAZA), Chairman & CEO of Ayala Corporation, on television being interviewed by Mr. Coco Alcuaz, host of ANC’s Business Nightly TV program. The interview with Mr. Zobel was made on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia held in Manila, but was aired and/or replayed a week later in late May or early June.

Without doubt, I wholeheartedly agree with JAZA that we, the Filipino people, should savor, relish and enjoy that the WEF Summit was being held here in Manila for the first time. There were more than 600 delegates coming from 30 countries that included government and business leaders, as well as those from the academe and civil society. In hindsight, the Filipino organizers of the WEF perhaps could have requested out of national interest for a one-week moratorium from the press on negative news and commentaries.