Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Acting President Edgardo Lacson called on PCCI members to adapt to the dramatic changes brought on not just by the pandemic but also by dizzying technological advances which have dramatically altered the landscape where people do business.

 Technology has triggered a paradigm change in the way of doing business, and the change has been accelerated by the pandemic.

“The old normal ways of doing things no longer hold true. The basis of stable and predictable growth in the past are no longer valid… Recognizing change and adapting to them is becoming critical to cope and survive,” said Lacson during the PCCI’s 29th Metro Manila Business Conference.

He said the conference focuses on innovations and changes that if properly understood will prepare the enterprises of PCCI members for the future.

Lacson said the world is in the midst of a health crisis many of have never experienced before with some nations like the Philippines being pushed to the brink of an economic black hole.

He asked the government to study policies which instead of helping the people may actually be hurting them more than the pandemic.

 “We need to take a serious second look at the protocols we have employed to confront this pandemic. We need to change our mindset and our respective responses. Lockdown whether region wide or granular is not the solution. It is the problem,” said Lacson.

“COVID-19 is a pharmaceutical problem which we are trying to solve with a militaristic solution like a lockdown.”

It is important to recognize opportunities brought on by the crisis according to Lacson. Entrepreneurs must look at disruptions not as obstacles but as opportunities to do better as they find new models and markets for their business. “We are therefore confronted with a choice by this crisis. We can either focus and be fixated with the danger, petrified into inaction in response to the disastrous lockdown protocols or we can focus on the various opportunities presented to us to transform the way we do business, make it grow and stay competitive through innovation we can put into practice,” said Lacson.