KKCCCI president Datuk Michael Lui presenting Jose (centre) with a memento after a courtesy meeting with the chamber at Wisma KKCCCI yesterday.
KOTA KINABALU: Manila will remain as Philippine’s capital city for a very long time, said Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Charles C Jose.
Jose, who said after a courtesy meeting with the Kota Kinabalu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KKCCCI) here yesterday, said the Philippine government had no official plans to move the capital to the autonomous Muslim Mindanao.
“I cannot imagine myself moving from Manila to Mindanao to work. Well, of course, Indonesia will already be doing it… from Jakarta to Kalimantan but in the case of the Philippines, I would imagine we will still continue to have Manila as our capital for the near future and very long time to come,” he said at a press conference at Wisma KKCCCI.
According to an article published on As Metro, Manila witnesses unchecked urbanisation that has compounded the effects of climate change. Scientists proposed the relocation of the national capital to decongest the city and lessen the pressure on groundwater supply.
In an October 16 2019 article published on www.eco-business.com, Dr Mahar Lagmay, one of the authors of the University of a Philippines study, said the city centre should be transferred to Southern Philippines’ Mindanao, the archipelago’s second largest island.
“If we’re talking about resilience, I would propose for the capital of the Philippines to be transferred to Mindanao. Metro Manila’s overpopluation makes the environment hard to manage, making it prone to disasters,” Lagmay told Eco-Business.
“By moving the capital, it could decongest Metro Manila, which seems like a dying city.”
Lagmay said Mindanao’s geographical location is ideal to faciliate trade with the Philippines’ Southeast Asian neighbours. Compared to other parts of the island-nation, Mindanao is nearest to Indonesia, one of the country’s largest trading partners, with bilateral trade valued at US$7.81 billion in 2018.