PCCI blames external woes for slowdown

One of the country’s largest business groups credited the administration’s efforts to promote good governance for inspiring confidence among local and foreign investors, helping shield the economy from the adverse effects of the crises in various parts of the world.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) countered claims of President Aquino’s critics by saying that the debt crisis in Europe and slow recovery of the United States economy were to blame for the Philippines’ sluggish performance.

“The Philippine economy was affected by these global developments but business in the country continues to grow,” PCCI president Miguel Varela said in a statement.

He said the recent earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan also contributed to the country’s lackluster economic growth. The US, Europe and Japan are among the country’s top trading partners, PCCI said.

Contrary to what critics claim, it said confidence in the Philippine economy was at its highest level in decades. He cited several developments under the current administration that showed an improvement in the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals.

These include an upgraded credit rating and the projection of Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp. that the Philippines would likely become the world’s 16th largest economy by 2050 if policymakers would follow through with government reforms.

“With focus on the improvement of the country’s international competitiveness, we can catch up with our Asian neighbors even earlier than 2050,” Varela said.

Varela’s statement came after Aquino outlined several of his administration’s economic achievements.

Mainly, the President said the government helped create 2.1 million new jobs last year.

The Department of Trade and Industry said it was planning to counter the slowdown in demand for merchandise exports by promoting growth of the country’s service sector, particularly the business process outsourcing industry.

Export Trade Promotion Director Senen M. Perlada said “the private sector and the DTI will keep their targets for 2012.”

The country’s exports target for 2012 was set at $80.2 billion.

Services exports, which include information technology and BPOs, now account for only 20 percent of total exports. Electronics, meanwhile, account for almost half of total exports.