The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Riza Lozada
Presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte will receive full cooperation from the business sector in his programs addressing poverty alleviation, high unemployment, inadequate infrastructure and preparedness on risks and disasters, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the country’s biggest trade group, said.
PCCI said these toughest problems facing the nation required “giant steps” that can only be achieved through collective work and policy focus from the Duterte administration.
In a forum organized by the Oxford Business Group over the weekend, the PCCI said that, based on consultations among its members, the challenges that the new leadership must address include the achievement of continued economic growth that is inclusive, meaning its effects trickle down to the masses, a stable macroeconomic environment, and increased productivity primarily in the agriculture sector.
The business group also called for more assistance for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and for an improved policy environment conducive for investments, whether foreign or local.
The “giant steps” that the incoming Duterte administration needs to take also involves good government, PCCI Secretary-General Crisanto Frianeza said.
The PCCI, through many years and past administrations, has been assisting the government in crafting good-government policies, Frianeza said. In this way, he added, the PCCI has helped strengthen the government’s inter-agency policies and regulations.
The PCCI said it would also help prod local governments to do their role in attaining economic growth, and plans to grade the LGUs through scorecards for best business practices.
The PCCI has also identified key factors in achieving continued economic growth. These include the reduction of the cost of doing business, the promotion of information and communications technology, and the improvement of Internet connectivity.
Frianeza said the PCCI will present to Duterte next month its consolidated proposals detailing the key challenges that need to be addressed.
The PCCI said it will move for the development of road maps that will be “agriculture-related,” with investments mainly in fisheries and in manufacturing.
The group said the reduction of the high cost of power and the development of an economy that is adoptive to climate change are also among the proposals it will ask the new leader to address.
On tourism, Frianeza said the industry “must improve its reliability, accommodation and academic linkages to achieve growth, based on the PCCI recommendations.”
He said the PCCI and other business groups believe the incoming administration should also promptly address all issues related to the rapid adoption of information and communications technology (ICT) know-how, reforms in the education sector, enhancement of the skills of Filipinos and putting emphasis on creativity and innovation, and generally removing barriers for continued growth.
In the same forum, Oxford Business Group Managing Editor for Asia Paulius Kuncinas expressed the need for the relaxation of ownership rules, noting that foreign investors and observers have long been batting for this proposal.
“The concern on equity rules has been holding back a lot of capital; everyone is looking for yields,” he said.
He added that concerns such as the protection of investors’ rights are also hurdles in the country’s efforts to raise investments.
Kuncinas likewise cited the traffic problem in major cities of the country, which he said was a big drain in the economy.