THE FILIPINO soldiers who fought to liberate Marawi City will be awarded collectively as the The Manila Times Man of the Year in the 7th Business Forum to be held today, Friday, at the Marco Polo Hotel Davao, with President Rodrigo Duterte as the main speaker.

The Times’ first Man of the Year was President Duterte who received the award at the 6th Business Forum by The Manila Times held in 2017, also in Davao.

Rodrigo R. Duterte, President of the Republic of the Philippines

With the theme, “Build, Consume, Grow: Gaining momentum for an emerging economy to soar,” the conference will gather business leaders and economic thinkers who will discuss their insights as well as prevailing trends and challenges in business and the general economy.

They are also expected to share information about the Duterte government’s policies that will guide the trajectory and pace of growth, and give tips on how the private sector could best serve as the government’s partner.

The resource speakers are Francisco Dakila Jr., managing director for the monetary policy subsector, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; Eduardo Francisco, president of BDO Capital and Investment Corp.; Shiela Lobien, regional director of Jones Lang LaSalle Philippines; Birgit Hansl, lead economist and private sector leader of the World Bank; Ernesto Pernia, secretary of socioeconomic planning; and Yongzheng Yang, representative to the Philippines of the International Monetary Fund.

The Manila Times Business Forum, which started in 2014, is an annual assembly of The Times, its partners, advertisers, readers and subscribers.