By Danielle Gabrielle
THE Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands (CCPI) said the Philippines has to further grow its GDP and revive its manufacturing industry for the country to catch up with its neighbors.
In the president’s report released by the CCPI, the oldest business institution in the country, five pillars underscoring the country’s need to create wealth from manufacturing its raw materials, providing more incentives for Filipino brands and establishing a system for good governance, among others, were pinpointed.
CCPI President Jose Luis Yulo Jr. said the government should not settle for slightly higher GDP growth rates year-on-year.
“We have to leapfrog. If our per capita income [and that of other countries] grow at 6 percent, we will not catch up. Every year we will lag behind them in absolute amounts. We hope [President-elect Rodrigo R.]Duterte can do something and help us leapfrog. Otherwise, we will continue to slide,” Yulo said.
Yulo added the country should be able to maximize its own resources instead of selling it to other nations, saying the country’s lack of a solid manufacturing industry is alarming.
“Do not export your raw materials. Use them locally. Wealth comes from two sources: What God gave you and what you create. Trading, per se, is not creating wealth,” Yulo said.
The chamber president added that, while foreign ownership is welcomed, the practice should be met with caution. He said the chamber envisions an “economy effectively controlled by Filipinos while they open to foreign participation and competition.”
According to Yulo, some aspects of the free-trade model proposed in the Asean integration poses a threat, unless mechanisms to make Filipino companies more competitive are implemented.
“We have to create a balance. Otherwise, the Philippines is gone as a country,” Yulo said, commenting on the foreign participation in the country’s business sector.
Incentives for Filipino brands and starting entrepreneurs should also be taken into account in policy-making. Yulo said tax benefits and loans are easily accessible to Filipino businesses that are trying to make a name for themselves.
“In our export thrust, we only exported cheap labor. What have we learned, earned? Nothing. We have forgotten that the company that owns the brand owns the market, so our government and embassies abroad to should help Filipino-owned brand names go global,” Yulo added.
Yulo bared the chamber will be presenting the report to the transition team handling the economic agenda of incoming President Davao Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte.
Celebrating its 130th anniversary, the CCPI also relaunched the Commerce, the official magazine of the chamber, which is one of the oldest business journal in the country with its establishment dating back to 1905.
The magazine, along with the chamber’s vision of “History Builds the Future 2030: Five Pillars,” was done in a bid to reposition the chamber as the backbone of the business setting in the Philippines using history as guide.
“We are an old institution that is now a newcomer. We are a chamber of history. We were No. 1 in the economy back then and the plan is to bring us back to No. 1. We speak with authority because we are part of the country’s one-time glory. We are now using the past as weapon to leverage for the future and to differentiate from the other chambers,” Yulo said.
Aside from suggestions for improvement in the economy, the chamber also highlighted language proficiency to be an asset in molding a stronger business climate in the country. According to Yulo, education should be given utmost attention in order to advance the whole system.
“Our education should be top of the world. Every Filipino has to access to the best schools, universal morals and values, and practice implicative thinking. They have to be proficient in correct English, Tagalog and another language,” Yulo added.
The chamber president said that, while revenues brought by Filipinos abroad and the rising number of business-process outsourcing companies help the economy, it cultivates a culture of slavery.
“While other nationals are busy getting higher education, we do the jobs that people from other countries do not want to do,” Yulo added.
Filipinos should also learn the business mind-set. Yulo said only around 1 percent of Filipinos own equity as opposed to the 63 percent of Americans who are earning extra income from dividends.
Having higher requirements for individuals who want to hold government positions is also part of their recommendations.
According to Yulo, in order for the Philippines to fare well in competition with other countries, competent leaders must be put in place.
CCPI’s five pillars aim to influence government policies and, in particular, the economic concerns of the Philippines by 2030.
Image credits: Roy Domingo