Competing in the age of disruption

As in the past years, our activities for 2018 will be guided by a theme. For this year, it is “Competing in the age of disruption.”

So many changes are happening that disrupt the usual way organizations operate. Advancements in technology, innovations in business models, prominence of borderless competition, climate change, and dynamism in geopolitics—all these disruptions have become prevalent, and it is incumbent upon us to encourage the development of collaborative and transformative programs that will help organizations to cope and thrive.

In pursuing MAP’s mission, we will continue to partner with the business community, the government, the academe and the civil society, pushing for reforms that will help the country improve its competitiveness, enable businesses to capitalize on disruptions, encourage the government to sustain a level-playing business environment, and inspire the citizenry to contribute to social progress.

Priority programs

We in the 2018 Board have agreed to pursue the following top three priority programs for 2018, in accordance with the results of last November’s MAP Quick Survey on MAP Members’ preferences.

First, competitiveness and ease of doing business.

In the “Doing Business 2018” report of the World Bank Group, our country’s ranking was at 113th across 190 economies, which is 14 notches lower than in the previous year’s ranking.

As long as the economic landscape remains forbidding for investors, they will take their money and job-creation capabilities elsewhere. Needless to say, this is something we hope to avoid.

Our association will focus this year on helping to improve the competitiveness and ease of doing business in the Philippines. This is so we can contribute to attracting local and foreign investments, creating more jobs, and ensuring inclusive growth.

MAP will continue to push for reforms and policies that will foster an enabling business environment. We remain steadfast in advocating for practical solutions that will facilitate business registration and accreditation process, and address bureaucratic problems faced by investors.

The MAP fully supports the necessary amendments to certain economic provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

We support the lifting of some economic restrictions in order to open more businesses to foreign investors. This would mean fresh infusion of capital to some of our under-capitalized sectors, introduction of greater innovations and, more importantly, job creation.

We in the MAP will maximize our support to the “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program of the Duterte administration.

The MAP has supported Phase 1, and we will continue to support the subsequent phases, of the TRAIN tax reform which is a bold initiative that will serve us well. It will help establish a stronger foundation for the economic growth and social development of the country going forward.

Second, managing business disruptions.

In these times when so many changes are happening—at a very fast pace at that—organizations must adapt, or die. There is really no choice but to adapt, and some organizations need more help than others to turn disruptions into opportunities.

As long as programs are in place to increase the readiness of people in adopting new processes and technologies, disruptive innovations could potentially yield societal and economic benefits.

We will ensure that the MAP will come up with activities that will help organizations face the massive disruptions to business.

Third, data privacy and cybersecurity.

Data privacy and cybersecurity are issues that keep MAP members and other CEOs awake at night. While there have been robust developments in the field of data protection, data breaches remain as pervasive as ever.

Cyber attacks put every organization at risk. Business continuity is unequivocally a board room responsibility, so business leaders and directors will have to increase the attention and resources they devote to data privacy and cybersecurity.

This year, we will be conducting programs aimed at enlightening our members and their stakeholders on how to protect sensitive personal information and enhance cyber security.

Other programs

Having identified these three major programs does not mean that we will just focus on these three. The fact is, we will continue to pursue our ongoing advocacies and programs on (1) traffic management, (2) entrepreneurship development through our EMERGE program, (3) good governance, (4) climate change, (5) energy, (6) CSR, (7) health and wellness, (8) sports and fellowship, (9) agribusiness development, (10) women empowerment, (11) trade, and (12) tourism, amongst others.

We will continue to work with other Philippine business groups and Joint Foreign Chambers in pushing for key reform measures to support the 10-point agenda of the Duterte Administration.

The challenges that our country faces are huge.

But, I think, there is no group of like-minded individuals more qualified than the MAP to make a positive social impact. The work that we do is one that no one else will.

So although our membership has changed considerably since the MAP’s establishment in the 1950, we remain as we were then: Management professionals that speak up for progress.

Member benefits

Amid the rapidly changing environment here and abroad, we need to make the MAP more relevant to its members. Hence, we will continue to organize interesting learning sessions, and hold more networking fellowship activities this year.

I ask each member to please support your Board’s efforts and participate in the various activities of the MAP this year. I encourage new faces to join our various committees.

In closing, I would like to thank my family, who is my constant source of strength and inspiration.

Special thanks as well go to my colleagues in Maynilad, and to the MVP Group for their unflinching support all these years.

Finally, I would like to thank the MAP general membership and the 2018 Board of Governors for giving me the honor and privilege of serving as the 69th president of the MAP.