GORDON, MOST QUALIFIED TO LEAD foreign execs reveal

Foreign businessmen and diplomats assigned in the country think that Richard Gordon would be the best person to run the country in the next 6 years, according to a mock poll conducted at the Wallace Business Forum held at the Makati Shang-rila Hotel last March 18, 2010.

In the said pseudo-elections, 35 executives of multinational companies and members of diplomatic community were asked to rank the presidential candidates and Gordon has been identified as the one that “can do the best job.”

Sen. Richard Gordon, former mayor of Olongapo City who lobbied for the creation of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ) when the Americans left the Subic Bay Naval Base in 1992 was first chairman and administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). He was the one who convinced multinational and local corporations to place their million dollar worth of investments in what used to be the remnants of a former military base.

“Because of his vision and credibility, Richard Gordon was able to attract foreign investors at Subic Bay. When the Americans left in 1992, we thought that was it because primarily, the livelihood and employment of Olongapeños and residents from neighboring towns used to depend on the U. S. Navy,” Damian delos Santos, 65, reminisced. “But Dick Gordon led us volunteers in protecting and preserving the Subic Naval Base area and thru his headship, foreign investors came in and what’s left of the former military bases was transformed into a bustling economic hub of today, the Subic Bay Freeport Zone,” delos Santos added.

“Only a leader of his caliber and credibility, can convince foreign businesses to invest in just a vision,” Olongapo City Councilor Edwin Piano, former Subic Bay volunteer and employee, said. “But he achieved the almost impossible and I am certain that he can do just as well as president of the country. From his track record, I believe him when he says that he can bring progress and transform Mindanao because he did it here in Subic Bay, ” said Councilor Piano.

According to the editorial section of the People’s Journal, a national newspaper, “Richard Gordon is the most prepared-academically, administratively, pragmatically and, most importantly, diplomatically.” Traits that were apparently hard earned from experience and attributes that can place the Philippines to the league of developed countries in Asia. Trust the foreign business experts and diplomats to know what they are saying and it is up to Filipinos to take the hint.