President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has sworn in philanthropist and civic leader as a special envoy to Japan for business and investment promotion.
Witnessing the oathtaking of Dr. Reghis M. Romero II in Malacanang yesterday was Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go.
Just recently, Dr. Romero II also received the prestigious Sino-Phil Peace Award from the Sino-Phil Asia International Peace Awards Foundation Inc. for his “passion and commitment to humanity and peace in the field of Business Management and Leadership”.
As “Special Envoy of the President” to Japan, Dr. Romero II is tasked to promote bilateral trade between the two countries and the export of Philippine products to the Japanese market.
And in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Philippine Trade and Investment Centers in Tokyo and Osaka, Dr. Romero II is mandated to aggressively seek out potential investors and locators mainly but not limited to Mindanao and in preferred sectors, such as manufacturing (of automotive and aerospace parts), electronics design services, shipbuilding, chemicals, food and pharmaceuticals, info technology and business process management, public-private partnerships (PPPs), agribusiness and aquaculture, and supply chain building projects.
The terms of reference for Dr. Romero II’s appointment also include active support for the Build, Build, Build program by securing Japanese private sector investments through PPPs “as complementary to the ongoing efforts within the framework of the Joint Committee on Philippines-Japan Infrastructure Development and Economic Cooperation,” which involves one trillion yen in public and private financing over a five-year period beginning in 2017.
As a philanthropist and businessman involved in property and infrastructure development, Dr. Romero II is the vice president of the World Council of Developers and Investors of the Paris-based International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI), whose Philippine chapter he also heads as president.
Dr. Romero II was FIABCI-Ph immediate past chairman and once headed the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders’ Associations as president.
A multi-awarded Filipino entrepreneur, Dr. Romero II has received a Doctorate Fellowship from London-based Academy of Multi-Skills of the United Kingdom.
As a civic leader, Dr. Romero II is also a former supreme commander of the Order of the Knights of Rizal, a nationwide organization created by Republic Act 646 to promote the teachings of the national hero.
Dr. Romero is a graduate of Foreign Service in UP-Diliman, Executive Development Program of the Asian Institute of Management, Masters in Business Economics at the University of Asia and the Pacific, and an honorary degree of Doctor of Humanities at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
He is also a three-time recipient of the Legends of Philippine Real Estate Awards from Biz News Asia Real Estate Who’s Who, Most Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Philippines Award from the Quezon City Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 1991, Most Outstanding Employer Award from District 3780 of the Rotary Club in 1993, Most Outstanding Kapampangan for Exemplary Achievement Award from the Kapampangan Press Club in 2009, PAMANA Award from the Local Government and People of Angeles City in 2014, KAIBIGAN Award from the Manila Police District in 2016, Nation Builder Award from BizNewsAsia in 2018, and Outstanding Port Operator Award in 2017 and Diplomate in Real Estate Management in 2018.
At present, Dr. Romero II is chairman of the Advisory Council of the Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG) of the Philippine National Police and an incumbent member of its Regional Advisory Council and the board of directors of the City College of Angeles.
