Filipinos who are also holders of dual citizenship will be accorded a more level playing field under an Aquino administration in the event that they decide to put up businesses in the Philippines instead of working abroad.

Under an LP administration, overseas Filipinos who want to settle down and invest businesses here will find it easier to transact business in a graft-free and reform-oriented government. No longer will they have to contend with the usual graft and corruption and red tape.

Under Aquino’s platform of transparency and good governance, more investment possibilities will be offered to overseas Filipinos holding dual citizenship.

Filipinos who have dual citizenship status are still Filipinos. They are still covered by our Constitution, therefore they should not be deprived of the rights their fellow Filipinos have, especially when it comes to doing business in the country.

In August of 2003, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed into law the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003 ( R.A. 9225) which states that Philippine citizens who become citizens of another country shall be deemed not to have lost their Philippine citizenship under the conditions of this Act. Allow me to tell you that I was principal author of the Dual Citizenship Law.

Now, natural-born citizens of the Philippines who have lost their Philippine citizenship by reason of their naturalization as citizens of a foreign country are now deemed to have re-acquired Philippine citizenship. Overseas Filipinos only need to swear allegiance to the Motherland, and, of course, follow the rules and regulations of the country.

Our economy needs not just the influx of funds that hardworking Filipinos send from abroad. We need their businesses, and I firmly believe that Noynoy, with the help of the Liberal Party and the rest of the business community, can make things happen.

The Aquino administration will make it a priority to attract, promote and welcome productive investments from foreign individuals, partnerships, corporations, and governments, including their political subdivisions, so long as they invest in activities which will significantly contribute to the nation’s industrialization and socio-economic development.

There are a lot of overseas Filipinos with dual citizenship who dream of making a difference in their lives, and one of these dreams, as we know, is to have the freedom to run their own businesses.

Now, overseas Filipinos who are tired of working abroad and instead want to come home and settle down with their own businesses, for as long as they follow the rules mandated by the Constitution, they need not fear that their status as having dual citizenship will be a deterrent to achieving their dreams.

Investments made by dual citizens will be highly encouraged by the Aquino administration in ventures that will greatly expand the livelihood and employment opportunities for every Filipino, enhance the economic value of farm products, and, of course, promote the welfare of Filipino Consumers.

Foreign investments will definitely be a welcome supplement to Filipino capital and technology, especially in enterprises serving mainly the domestic market.

Overseas Filipinos with dual citizenship, having their network of foreign markets, can help expand the scope, quality and volume of exports in the Philippines. With the knowledge that they have gained from working abroad, OFWs can help Noynoy in his fight to address poverty, through the transfer of relevant technologies in agriculture, industry and support services.