PCCI wants details of Duterte program

While the Duterte administration has unveiled a 10-point socio­economic agenda early on in President Duterte’s term, the country’s largest business orga­nization, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), said it wanted to see a more de­tailed plan on it.On the sidelines of the 2017 Sulong Pilipinas forum, PCCI President George Barcelon told reporters that the private sector would like to hear more details of the govenment’s socioeconomic policies.

Barcelon said that it was in last year’s Sulong Pilipinas fo­rum that the Duterte administra­tion’s economic team presented the 10-point socioeconomic agenda to the business sector.

“Hopefully, at the end of the day, we hear the President (Ro­drigo Duterte), giving us, in re­sponse to what have been pre­sented, maybe a more detailed plan or timeline for some of the projects,” the PCCI head said.

“What are the areas that you want to prioritize? I do not expect them to do everything at the same time. So how they pri­oritize and what kind of timeline they would give,” he said.

Barcelon said that among the key areas that were crucial to the economy included infra­structure, human development, and the ease of doing business. He said the government should also ensure the socioeconomic benefits of infra­structure projects, aside from addressing de­congestion in the road.

On enhancing labor skills, the govern­ment was urged to spell out its plans to as­sure implementation of quality education in the K to 12 program.

“What would be the quality of education for the young because that is very import­ant,” Barcelon said.

Moreover, the ease of doing business will attract more investments in the country that create more jobs for its people.

He also noted that the 10-point socio­economic agenda of the government, sup­ports PCCI’s banner program called GIANT STEPS — governance, infrastructure, new era of manufacturing and tourism, and the science and technology, education, people’s skills, and SME financing.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, in response, said substantial progress has been achieved on the socioeconomic re­form agenda crafted during the first Sulong Pilipinas workshop held before the Duterte administration took over last year, particular­ly on the primary goals of growing a robust middle class, putting more money in the pockets of wage earners and making the Philippines more attractive to investors.

Among the “actionable recommenda­tions” that was later adopted as the zero-to-10-point socioeconomic reform agenda of the then incoming Duterte administration during the first Sulong workshop was the proposed Comprehensive Tax Reform Pro­gram (CTRP) that aims to support the gov­ernment’s ambitious infrastructure program, which the country “direly needs” to strength­en the country’s poor logistics backbone and make the economy globally competitive, Dominguez said.

“The (tax) reform package seeks to bring down corporate and personal tax rates clos­er to the regional average. This will help us build a strong middle class, encourage in­vestments into our economy and put more disposable income in the pockets of wage earners,” Dominguez said in his welcome remarks at the second Sulong Pilipinas na­tional workshop.

Dominguez said tax reform “will enable government to undertake a massive infra program amounting to 7.4 percent of gross domestic product [GDP] without breaking the limits of fiscal discipline.”

For the second Sulong workshop, Dominguez said he expects micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which com­prise 99.6 percent of the country’s total busi­ness enterprises and employ 63.7 percent of the work force, to have “a stronger voice” in the forum.

“Government policies must be squarely behind your success,” Dominguez said.

He said that while the first Sulong forum held in Davao City has proven to be an ef­fective mechanism in providing all sectors a voice in shaping state policy, those who were involved in helping draw up the socioeco­nomic reform agenda should likewise active­ly support this strategy to move it forward.

Dominguez referred specifically to the CTRP, which, he said, is necessary to achieve genuine economic inclusion, as it would, among others, help build 113,553 classrooms for public school children and hire 181,980 more teachers.

The CTRP is also crucial in improving the country’s national gravel roads, irrigating 1.3 million hectares of agricultural land and providing road access for 7,894 isolated ba­rangays and 23,293 isolated sitios.

It will also enable the government to upgrade 704 hospitals and establish 25 new ones, achieve 100 percent PhilHealth cover­age with higher quality services, upgrade 263 rural and urban health units to disaster-resil­ient facilities and hire an additional 176,922 health professionals, Dominguez said.

“Tax reform,” according to Dominguez, “will likewise help support the infrastructure program we so direly need to keep pace with our neighbors, improve efficiency in the movement of goods and people, and pre­pare our economy to thrive in a more com­petitive setting.”

Moreover, Dominguez said the CTRP will help fund socioeconomic programs such as the Targeted Cash Transfers for the bot­tom 50 percent of the population; Pantawid Pasada and the Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Modernization Program, which will benefit PUV drivers and commuters; and Pantawid Kuryente for small electricity consumers.The CTRP will likewise help finance the proposed National ID System which will also serve as social welfare cards for those qualified to avail themselves of targeted cash transfers and other social benefits.

“The economic program of this ad­ministration aspires to achieve a regime of high growth. Our economic policies seek to make that growth more inclusive in the next few years as we enable our economy to be investments-led. By the end of this administration, we expect to bring down poverty incidence to just 14 percent,” Dominguez said.

The first Sulong Pilipinas workshop was spearheaded on June 20 and 21 last year by Dominguez to help guide the in­coming administration, in partnership with business leaders, representatives of stake­holder groups and civil society organiza­tions, on its path to reform.

“Sulong Pilipinas 2016 was a very productive exercise. From the vigorous discussions, we arrived at the zero-to-ten point socio economic program of reform adopted by the then incoming Duterte ad­ministration. We likewise produced a list of ‘actionable recommendations.’ As we will see from the reports later on, there have been substantial accomplishments on those recommendations,” Dominguez said.

The finance chief said growth has re­mained high, with the economy expand­ing 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2017 and the manufacturing sector posting a 7.5 percent year-on-year growth, since the Duterte administration took over and start­ed implementing its socioeconomic reform agenda.

“We hope this pattern will continue,” Dominguez said.