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From bad to good to better seems to best describe the business sector’s perception of presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte as he continues to announce controversial policy plans that include the integration of communist rebels into his Cabinet. 

The eight-point economic agenda presented by the camp of presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte, and the names of the personalities who would be part of his Cabinet, appear to have quickly soothed anxieties in the business sector. 

Credit-rating firms are keeping a wait-and-see attitude on the administration of presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte, the tough-talking former Davao City mayor whose lead over his rivals in the last presidential election appears to have become insurmountable. Although the official results have yet to be announced, all of his rivals, with the exception of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, have conceded defeat But …

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. 

By Luis Leoncio Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the key drivers of growth among economies of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) members, but experts say these remain one of the region’s untapped resources. 

By Luis Leoncio  Reforms in the country’s tax rates, considered one of the highest in the region, and the tax system itself, and a final, vigorous push for the long-shelved efforts to relax constitutional limits on foreign ownership are on top of the final wish list that the business sector has come up with for the successor of President Aquino.

By Luis Leoncio  As the Aquino administration draws to a close, more details are being revealed about the supposed reforms initiated under his term, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) attributing the improvement in fiscal management to measures undertaken during the term of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. 

A victory for potential strongman Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is causing considerable anxiety in the business community and has already resulted in a downswing in the Philippines Stock Exchange index (PSEi), among other business indicators. 

Even before the money-laundering scandal involving the $81 million hackers stole from Bangladesh Bank, foreign banks had already been reducing money-transfer operations that were having an adverse impact on the remittance costs and flows of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. said. 

By Riza Lozada Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of the board of directors of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), has reminded the government that power interruptions remained a “cause for concern and visible indicators that much more needs to be done in the power supply chain.”