TARLAC Governor Susan Yap said that the Central Luzon Growth Corridor Foundation, Inc. (CLGCFI) will embark in trade missions and exchanges in South Korea in the coming months aimed at fostering better trade relations.

The CLGCFI is a foundation founded by the governors of Central Luzon. Gov. Yap is the current president of the foundation.
“I pushed for trade missions and exchanges not only locally, but also internationally. So, this coming November, I am taking all the governors of Central Luzon to South Korea for a trade mission, to check-out smart cities, how we can help our SMEs [small and medium enterprises] and we will be meeting with a group of importers,” she said.
Gov. Yap, who was the guest at the Capampangan in Media, Inc.’s Balitaan in Clark Field, Pampanga said that she already had an initial talk with the Philippine Ambassador to South Korea.
“I already had initial talks with Ambassador Theresa Dizon-de Vega regarding our trip. Our League of Provinces Chairman Dax Cua and President Jun Tamayo also requested me to facilitate a trade mission trip to South Korea focused on food security and agricultural exchanges,” Gov. Yap said who is likewise the vice president of the League of Provinces of the Philippines.
She also revealed that she started discussions with Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa for a possible trade mission to Japan.
“Why are we doing this, is because, as it is, next year, our budgets will drop by at least 15%. For Tarlac, that means more than P450-million slashed from our budget. So we have to be creative on our ways on how we can generate revenues and continue the growth and recovery from the pandemic,” she said.
Population of Japan and South Korea
Gov. Yap made mention of the declining population of Japan and South Korea and the Philippines should take advantage of it.
“As you know, Korea and Japan, their population is on the decline. Yung laki ng population ng Pilipinas is still going up is both an asset and a problem. An asset because we have skilled workers, that is why kami po sa Tarlac we invest in getting our workers trained and skilled para employment able kaagad. A problem because there are more to feed,” she pointed-out.
She said, because of the population of the country, there are demands for workers in these aging countries for skilled workers.