United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo assured the Philippines that the over USD1-billion investment pledges of American companies during her trade mission here are not just promises and would materialize soon.

In a virtual press briefing capping off her four-day trip in Southeast Asia Thursday, the White House official said these investments are “already underway” and some of these “will be underway shortly.”

“These US companies are committed. They have signed agreements to move forward with the investments, including the creation of education and career opportunities,” Raimondo said.

“So what I can tell you is that, some of America’s biggest, most successful companies—Google, Mastercard, Microsoft, Visa, United Airlines—they are committed to making these investments,” she added.

Raimondo, who led the first-of-its-kind Presidential Trade and Investment Mission (PTIM) to Manila from March 11 to 12, said the clear actions of the Marcos administration to improve regulatory structure encourage US businesses to continue their investments in the Philippines.

“President Marcos was clear with us and has been clear with his actions that he is very forward-leaning towards the United States. He is also very committed to making the necessary changes in the regulatory structure, cutting red tape, being against corruption, being [a] transparent government,” she noted.

“All these things are steps in the right direction, which will make the Philippines as an even more attractive place to do business for American companies,” Raimondo said.

In an interview early this week, US-ASEAN Business Council president Ted Osius said the Philippine government should continue what it has been doing in terms of ease of doing business in the country.

“The other thing that the government has done is deal with infrastructure bottlenecks. And I’ve heard this commitment from the first days of the Marcos presidency,” Osius added. (PNA)