FILIPINO businessmen presented to President Aquino a 14-point agenda that focuses on good government, economic sustainability and infrastructure.
At the same time, the Filipino businessmen also welcomed the President’s announcement that he has allocated P72 billion for stimulus spending for the remainder of the year.
“It is a welcome news. Now we have a direction. The impact on growth will be felt in the first quarter of 2012 but the impact on the poor will be immediate because of the expenditure allotted for the rehabilitation of roads and other infrastructure,” Donald Dee, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) chairman, said.
President Aquino, meanwhile, assured the businessmen that the government is prepared to deal with global uncertainties that have already made an impact on the Philippine economy.
At the close of the 37th Philippine Business Conference on Thursday, Mr. Aquino said, “Fifteen months of
fiscal prudence and taking the necessary steps to ensure that money is spent wisely has given the wherewithal to decisively address the economic uncertainty we face today."
He said the supposed government “underspending,” criticized by some as responsible for the low economic growth, has allowed it to set aside P72 billion for a stimulus package that will not only boost growth but more important, fund anti-poverty projects “that Filipinos can feel the effects immediately.”
The 14-point agenda came from meetings conducted by the PCCI with its over 100 local chambers and 130 industry associations representing the group’s over 35,000 members.
In these meetings, resolutions were made to push a sectoral agenda in 14 areas: agricultural development; education and skills development; energy and power reforms; environment; good governance; housing and construction; industry; intellectual property; mining; micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) development; taxation; trade; transport; and logistics.
Dr. Francis Chua, PCCI president, said these were capsulized and presented to the President as the PBC Resolutions. They highlighted the extensive areas of partnership that the PCCI and its affiliates present to the government.
“We are ready, willing and able to engage with the government to tackle these measures and look forward to the government’s favorable response to our drive for stronger partnership to sharpen our competitive edge,” Chua said.
Chua said the PBC sectoral agenda identified three strategic priority areas for improved Philippine competitiveness that the PCCI wants the President to immediately address.
These are good government by promoting transparency and accountable public institutions; economic sustainability by enabling reforms and lowering the cost of doing business, ecological sustainability, improved agro-industrial performance, tourism development and globally competitive educational system; and intermodal infrastructure road map.
Under good government, the PCCI urged the administration to pursue openness, transparency and effective competition for private-public partnership (PPP) projects by issuing an executive order on joint ventures, amending the implementing rules of the build-operate-transfer law and reforms on right-of-way negotiations.
The PCCI also urged the government to come up with institutional reforms to enhance regulatory functions of the Marina and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, as well as those facilitating housing and construction.
On economic sustainability, the PCCI called for a legislated industrialization policy matched with an ideal competition and trade-policy frameworks supporting sector competitiveness, especially in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, energy, transport and communications services, among other areas.
It also espoused the need for proactive and business-friendly policies supporting revenue generation, trade facilitation, environmental sustainability, MSME development, intellectual-property rights, tourism development and visa processing, and PPP investments.
On energy, the PCCI sought the “formulation of a five-year electric-power road map with specific action programs and milestones focused on achieving three goals, namely: bringing power rate to a competitive level, sustaining base and reserve power in Luzon, resolving the Mindanao power-supply situation with a good sense of focus, urgency and application of critical strategy led by the national government and not left alone to private-sector initiative.”
The PCCI reiterated its call for a longterm intermodal infrastructure road map supporting growth of business and economic activities in the countryside.
It urged the government to bid out a few “ready-to-go projects" such as Light Rail Transit extensions, "considering that these projects have existing feasibility studies, commercially interesting to the developers and financial institutions."
On the legislative side, the PCCI identified the priorities as the National Industrialization Plan, increased appropriations for agriculture, research and development, science and technology and infrastructure; Accession to the Madrid Protocol, and amendments to the National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center Act.
(With Mia Gonzalez)
