Creation of LGU investment councils urged

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry chair Miguel B. Varela: Pushing for investments in the countryside. PHOTO FROM PDRCI.ORG

MANILA, Philippines–The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry is pushing for the creation of local investment promotion councils, which would identify and latch on to prospective job-creating business opportunities, particularly in the countryside.

These councils are expected to grow more consistently and effectively, trade opportunities for small businesses in the provinces, PCCI chair Miguel B. Varela said in a statement issued Wednesday.

Varela explained that these investment promotion councils, which would be composed of heads of local governments and representatives of business chambers, would serve as a practical mechanism for public-private partnerships for local economic growth.

The councils, he further said, may designate groups that will implement certain tasks such as preparing to-do lists, setting the timeframe for completion, identifying the resources needed, and assessing results.

Varela cited as an example the success of the South Cotabato-Sarangani-General Santos City area which was formed in the early 1990s to shape a new regional growth center in Southern Mindanao. This move was then led by government officials, local business chambers and the United States Agency for International Development.

It was learned that economic development is best pursued in the context of a contiguous growth cluster; the overall team leader must be acceptable to all players, and with a success-driven private sector orientation.