Over 200 investors, business leaders, business associations, chambers of commerce and foreign dignitaries participated in Quezon City’s Investors Summit on Friday, October 7.

Also present were officials of sister cities and non-government organizations, together with dignitaries and representatives from countries including New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, Ireland, France, Denmark, Israel, United States, Germany, Great Britain and Manila Economic and Cultural Office.

“We made a conscious and deliberate effort to win back the trust of people in the government, so that they could see the government as an enabler, rather than a hindrance. With trust, relationships can be built with relationships, cooperation, and progress.” Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

“Today, I stand before you asking you to trust us, to choose us, to work with us. Together, we can make your business grow and thrive, and by doing so, we can lift our people at the margins from the quagmire of poverty,” she added.

Mayor Belmonte’s call was echoed by City Administrator Mike Alimurung during his presentation.

During the event, the city engaged with businesses in discussions on key areas for investments, public-private partnerships, and opportunities for expansion and growth leaning on the city’s five major thrusts namely social services for all, economic development, environmental sustainability conservation, high-caliber infrastructure, and good governance.

Department of Trade and Industry Sec. Alfredo E. Pascual served as the keynote speaker of the Investment Summit.

“Being future ready means being sustainable, inclusive, and resilient. It means getting ahead in climate change adaptation and mitigation, poverty elimination, and disaster risk reduction and management. And we know that Quezon City has been doing all these things already so they are indeed future ready. With this summit, Quezon City is poised to take on future challenges,” Sec. Pascual said.

As QC thrives to be the top business destination in the country, applying for business permits and licenses were made easier through the development of QCBizEasy under the city’s QC E-Services platform.

The local government has already automated and digitized 95 percent of the city’s services. This was made possible by the administration through constant discussions and consultations with stakeholders.

“Our commitment to you is that we will continue to cut red tape. We will continue to reduce, and with your help, hopefully eliminate corruption. We will continue to improve our systems and processes. And we will make sound, data driven decisions and policies, for the benefit of businesses and our citizens. We certainly won’t ask you what’s in it for us officials. But we will ask what’s in it for the city and for QCitizens,”City Administrator Mike Alimurung said.

Breakout sessions were also initiated after the program, with the five major thrusts of the city government as topics for discussion.

“Ito ang pangunahing layunin natin: ang pakinggan sila, tingnan kung ýung mga hiling nila ay kaya nating ibigay. We are hoping na magpatuloy ang ganitong klaseng konsultasyon para tunay na masasabi na ‘yung private sector at pamahalaan ay magka-partner hindi lang sa pag-unlad ng mga negosyo kundi pati sa pag-unlad ng mga mamamayan at lungsod. Kapag ang business sector ay umunlad, lahat ay uunlad,” the mayor added.

###