Business leaders call for broader infra plan

MAKATI CITY, Philippines – Business leaders urge the government to create a broader infrastructure plan to ensure investments-led economic growth.

In a speech during the recent Pilipinas Conference 2022, International Container Terminal Services Inc executive vice president Christian Gonzalez said that to attract foreign investments in manufacturing, there is a need for an infrastructure privatization program that is driven by a broader strategy.

“Right now, in this country, infrastructure privatization is done piecemeal in isolation… Where is the masterplan of creating industrial zones in areas that are already connected to the global marketplace? Where is the masterplan to create infrastructure in places that will later become sites for industrial and commercial areas that will be connected to the global marketplace,” Gonzalez said.

“Unless we start thinking based on a broader infrastructure plan and move out of this isolated system of privatization and building infrastructure, frankly, we will not accelerate (neither) the inflow foreign investments nor manufacturing in the way we all want,” he added.

Ayala Corp president Cezar “Bong” Consing said there is a need to look at the examples of neighboring countries on how to ensure a sustainable long-term economic growth.

“I’m tempted to look at the examples of, say, China, Korea, Japan, post-World War II.  The objective there was really to transfer resources devoted to consumption toward investment. And you might say that in many cases, they overdid it. Right. I mean, Japan adopted this beggar thy neighbor policy. And China really went extreme, right? …But we need some of that,” Consing said during the same conference.

“We need some of that because unless you have a real significant transfer of resource allocation, we will never rebuild our manufacturing sector. We are the poorest BBB+ country in the world. Yet look at consumer goods, you can find everything here. Clearly there is misbalance,” he added.

PLDT Inc. president Alfredo Panlilio emphasized the need to attract more investments from the manufacturing industry.

“Clearly, [there’s] lack of manufacturing companies that invest in the country. If you talk about manufacturing, it’s an investment that’s long term for the country.” he said.

Similarly, Stratbase president Professor Dindo Manhit discussed the importance of how the government could create an investment environment for jobs to be created.

“Imagine if we give enough incentives to the manufacturing sector. Imagine if we really generate more tourism. Imagine if we continue to play a role and strengthen the business process outsourcing or the KPO, knowledge process outsourcing, as one of our exports — imagine 109 million Filipinos who are productive, working, earning toward that end. That’s a big consumer base. If this group of people will spend because there’s enough livelihood, not much indebtedness, then you can see a more sustained growth. Consumption economy, which is what drives us, can only be sustained, I believe, from an investment-led growth trajectory, not jobless growth,” he said.

The private sector is an indispensable partner of the government in achieving its aim to improve the Filipinos’ quality of life, Manhit said.

“The private sector invests and pours capital into the system. They provide employment and, consequently, income. They transfer technology and help upgrade people’s skills.”

Manhit added that the best way to outgrow the country’s current economic crisis is by investing in and prioritizing the Filipino people.

“At the end of the day, ordinary citizens are actually the main drivers of development, but they need to be given the opportunity. We need to turn these citizens into productive members of society. They earn. They have income. They have livelihood. They consume. That’s what drives economy,”  Manhit said.

For his part, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said that to ensure economic growth, one of the Department of Trade and Industry’s strategic priorities is linking corporations with Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to develop supply and value chains in the national and global level.

MSME’s comprise 99.5 percent of the total number of enterprises or companies in the Philippines.

“Aside from addressing gaps in the value chains and the suppliers value chains, these links will help us graduate micro to small, small to medium and medium to large enterprises. We have designed and launched programs to help make sure MSMEs are on par and ready to work with large corporates. One of our priorities in DTI is to upgrade, upskill, and upsize MSMEs,” Pascual said.