Executives from Philips today revealed a 250 million Euro ($208 million) expansion of its electronics operations in the Philippines.

Gerard Kliesterle, president and chief executive officer of the Royal Philips Electronics Worldwide, told President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that the Philippines is as important as China, and so they are expanding their operations here.

"You can look forward to it," Kliesterle told the President during a courtesy call in Malacanang.

Kliesterle was accompanied to the Palace by Andreas Wente, president and CEO of Royal Philips Asia Pacific, Menardo Mateo, president and CEO of Philips Philippines and Trade and Industry Secretary Cesar Purisima.

Kliesterle noted that the Filipino workers are competitive, well-skilled and have good work ethics. "It is clear that the Philippines can compete with China," he said.

He also said Royal Philips has no problem with the labor cost, skills and the general fiscal and legal environment in the Philippines.

The President responded by thanking the executives. "I’m very happy. I hope you’re very successful. We welcome your presence and your expansion," she said.

Kliesterle informed the President of the exciting new technology, which Philips is involved in – the radio frequency identification (RFID) chips. RFID describes a family of technologies that can be used for contactless identification of almost any object. Depending on the type of chip and the application, they work at a range of a few centimeters or up to two or three meters, in radio frequencies from 125kHz up to several GHz in the ultra high frequency (UHF) band area.

Stressing the importance of a pool of highly skilled engineers, Kliesterle told the President the need for engineering courses to be aligned with the real industry requirements.

The President responded by telling Secretary Purisima to sit down with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for the need to refine the courses as she underscored the relevance of taking graduate studies in engineering.

Kliesterle also noted the need to continuously improve infrastructure, carry out a strict implementation of intellectual property rights and provide a level-playing field for businesses.

In closing, the Philips executive presented to the President a deed of donation for new Philips medical equipment, the "Heart Start."

The medical machine is described as a user-friendly equipment that, if made available in public places, could immediately resuscitate a person who just had a heart attack without brain damage.

Kliesterle said a Philips survey found out that it takes 15 minutes for an ambulance to respond to an emergency, but with the "Heart Start," a person could be resuscitated without damage.

Kleisterle’s visit in the country is part of a tour of Asia-Pacific countries, including Hong Kong and China, to gain further insight into the developments in respective Philips operations.

Philips Philippines, one of the biggest business organizations in the country, employs some 6,000 Filipinos. Its operations in the Philippines include two semiconductor plants in Laguna and a commercial office in Makati City.