Act on PBC proposals before term ends, Aquino urged

The head of the country’s largest business organization stressed the importance of “political will” to enable the government to carry out critical measures addressing 12 of the most pressing and contentious issues faced by businesses operating in the Philippines today.

Alfredo M. Yao, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), said the business sector was, however, optimistic that at least 40 percent of the proposed reforms they would be submitting to President Aquino Tuesday could still be implemented in the remaining months of the current administration, particularly in the area of infrastructure.

“Usually, only 40 percent of what we submit to the government (every year) are accomplished. If we have political will, the implementation will be faster. Instead of 40 percent, the success rate in terms of implementing the reforms we’ve proposed will be higher at about 70 to 80 percent. A lot can happen because of political will,” Yao said on the sidelines of the 41st Philippine Business Conference (PBC) on Monday.

Based on the 41st PBC Resolutions, the PCCI wants the government to carry out reforms in 12 major areas—energy; environment; legislative; industry; education; logistics; transport infrastructure; ICT and services; intellectual property; capital market development; small and medium sized enterprise (SME) development, and taxation.

The PCCI believes these reforms would play a strategic role in boosting the competitiveness of local industries, including micro, small and medium sized enterprises in this era of integrated regional and global economies.

“Our theme, ‘One Global Filipino: Synergies in Partnerships for Global Competitiveness’ is anchored on the fact that global integration has finally caught up with us, opening our businesses to a larger market but also to greater competition. The Asean Economic Community and the various free trade agreements that we have entered into are not just there for us to reap their benefits but for us to sharpen our competitive advantage,” Yao said during the opening of the 41st PBC yesterday.

“Our foremost challenge as businesses in this new global order is how to maximize the expanded market and the new resources that come with integration. We need the government to come up with sound policies and strategies to leverage our competitive edge,” Yao further said.