Heads up – Embassy 20 – November 2009

Family matters

Antonio Lagdameo is very much a family man. For most of his professional life, The Philippines’ newly-arrived Ambassador to London has worked in his large family business, which spans agriculture, banking, tourism and manufacturing.

So when he moved into diplomacy, first as Ambassador to Mexico (2007) and then  Spain (2008), Lagdameo took the same approach, treating The Philippines’ global diaspora as part of his extended family.

And very much like family, the diaspora has been there for the country in times of crisis. As news began to spread about the devastation wreaked by the recent floods in the Philippines, the Embassy was inundated  with offers of help from the Filipino community. “It was very moving to see how they mobilised for their home country,” says Lagdameo.

The frequent, violent storms that now batter The Philippines is considered evidence of climate change. “As a developing nation, we are a climate taker not a climate maker,’ says Lagdameo, who still holds out hope that a fair climate change agreement will be hammered out soon.

Another storm that The Philippines has had to weather is the recent financial crisis, yet the country still managed to register positive growth. Again, the Filipino diaspora have come to the rescue, with their remittances that have helped bolster the currency and keep the economy afloat.

Not only is the worldwide network of Filipinos indispensable in a crisis, but it is fast becoming a cultural and economic resource for the country, adds the Ambassador. “Our diaspora are emerging as a  potent economic and civic group within the societies that they are living in.”

The Ambassador hopes his network of business contacts, combined with British investors and the skills of Filipinos both at home and abroad will create many business opportunities during his tour of duty. “The UK is our biggest trading partner in Europe and we would like to maintain and enlarge that,” he says.

Moreover, The Philippines is a cultural and linguistic bridge between Asia and the West. “We are the only Catholic-majority country in Asia; we speak English and Spanish; and because of our diverse ethnic mix, the Philippines is a melting pot of the different Asian people.”

Meetings with investors during the recent visit of President Arroyo to the UK identified a number of sectors as ripe for development, continues Lagdameo.

Outsourcing is a growth industry ideal for bilingual Filipinos. The Philippines is also keen to develop its green energy sector − the country is known as “the Saudi Arabia of biomass” because it is one of the world’s leading producers of bioethanol. Volcanic activity also provides the archipelago with a clean source of geothermal energy.

The Philippines is rich in raw materials, such as copper and gold, as well as yet unexploited oil and natural gas deposits and new investment laws have been created to encourage investors in this sector, he adds.

With its pristine tropical islands, tourism also has much potential. In fact, the Ambassador’s family owns an idyllic resort in the southern province of Davao in Mindanao. But Islamic and Maoist insurgencies is a deterrent for tourists − the Ambassador himself had a brush with terrorists in the past trying to invade the family resort.

However, Lagdameo is keen to stress that the threat of terrorism has diminished significantly with the country’s the ongoing peace process.

“The threat from insurgents is isolated to remote islands in the south so we have to combat the false impression that the whole area is unsafe. We are working with the Foreign Office to make sure that the travel advisories are very specific,” says Lagdameo.

The Philippines is also looking to Britain for help with the peace process: “The British government has been quite helpful to assist us in getting negotiations underway because of their experience in Nothern Ireland,” says the Ambassador.

With such a range of activities the Ambassador hopes there will still be time to indulge his many hobbies. He plans to take up golf and, as a member of the Philippine Orchid Society, he and his wife are keen to hit the horticultural shows.

As chairman of the Philippine Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders Association, horse racing is a passion he shares with The Queen. He grins with delight when he reveals that his family’s horse, Manila Mango, beat the Queen’s horse in the 1989 Ascot.