The Excellencies of the Diplomatic Corps; Trade and Industry Secretary Fred Pascual; of course, our host for today, the Unilever Chairman and CEO Benjie Yap; my fellow workers in government; and of course, our partners in the private sector; other distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

We take today a further step towards our collective vision of a more progressive, empowered, and sustainable Philippines with the inauguration of Unilever’s New Beauty, Well-being, and Personal Care Factory.

I would like to note that this major investment is amongst the pledges that we received during our trip to Belgium for the ASEAN-EU Summit last December.

To see this project come to fruition after just several months is not only encouraging, it also inspires me and the rest of the government to work even harder for the Filipino people.

So, I congratulate and thank Unilever Philippines for the establishment of this very high-technology and sustainability-driven manufacturing facility for personal care products.

It is a truly welcome development for all our shared efforts to strengthen our manufacturing sector and, to ultimately, create jobs and gainful opportunities for our people.

This manufacturing plant is projected to produce nearly 90,000 tons of various personal care products annually and this is to meet the growing domestic and export demand for Unilever products.

It is also worth mentioning that this plant is one of Unilever’s largest personal care facilities in the world and is expected to generate over 5,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities for our countrymen.

So, I extend my gratitude once again to Unilever for your continued trust and confidence in the Philippines and in the talent of the Filipino people.

It is very important that this serve also as a vote of confidence, not only for Unilever, but also a vote of confidence for other investors who would like to come in when such an important facility such as this has been put up still here in the Philippines. I’m sure it will help to encourage other groups to come in and do the same.

I also express my admiration for your commitment to expand your footprint and champion inclusivity and social responsibility by making products more accessible and affordable.

Let me thus assure you of the government’s unwavering support for your company’s expansion and sustainability plans here in the Philippines as well as for your just and humanitarian causes that benefit our citizens and communities.

Through our coordinated and synergized efforts, this will lead towards the realization of this administration’s socioeconomic agenda. I have faith that we can actualize the goals of boosting employment; adopting research, development and innovation; and shaping a blue and a green economy.

In relation to this, Unilever Philippines has pioneered green programs through its initiatives such as the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, the Malasakit for All, and Zero-waste Program.

These intend to lessen the environmental carbon footprint, deliver basic goods and services to vulnerable sectors, and address plastic pollution.

Moving forward, I enjoin everyone to strive towards building a healthier and more resilient future by devising ecologically sound initiatives that confront our contemporary challenges.

And there is proof in this because when we stopped by one of the stations, it was demonstrated to me. They were showing that there was a new packaging for one of the products. And that packaging will entail the use of five percent less plastic and immediately that is — considering the volumes that we are talking about, that is an enormous — that is a big number.

And you can see that Unilever is constantly pushing, finding new ways to — pushing the envelope and finding new ways to make their operations more sustainable and more resilient.

So, when the time comes… I had also the privilege of putting on the… [Yeah, the VR to look] Pag sinuot mo pala ‘yung VR nakikita mo ‘yung sa loob nung makina. Sa television ko lang nakikita ‘yun eh. Mayroon na pala dito sa GenTri. We already have this kind of very important technology and they were telling me that there’s a new technology that’s going to come online in a couple of years.

So, that is exactly the kind of attitude that we need for us to continue to push to make all our industries, all our manufacturing facilities better in every way.

I’m proud to say that this accomplishment shows that the Philippines is able and ready to welcome and accept investments from various priority sectors around the world.

We have undertaken strategic initiatives to further encourage investments by establishing “green lanes;” supporting ecozones; and operationalizing game-changing policy reforms, such as the amendments to the Public Service Act, Foreign Investments Act, and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act.

But our efforts to transform the economy do not end here. We have many more initiatives and even more projects in the pipeline aimed at cementing the Philippines’s position as a leader in smart and sustainability-driven manufacturing in Southeast Asia and in the world.

So, it is my hope that you will continue this journey and transform with us, so that together, we reap the fruits of prosperity that await us in the years ahead.

Once again, congratulations on the establishment of Unilever’s new BWPC Factory!

More power to you at mabuhay kayong lahat! Maraming salamat po. Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat. [applause]

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Watch here: Inauguration of Unilever’s New Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care Factory

Location: Unilever BWPC, General Trias, Cavite