The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the country’s largest business organization, will submit to President Rodrigo Duterte its proposed policy resolutions it hopes the government will consider and act upon to fast-track the recovery of the Philippine economy.
The list will be presented to Duterte at the concluding ceremonies of the 47th at Philippine Business Conference & Expo on November 17-18 where the President will deliver his concluding keynote address. The resolutions cover 10 specific areas including reopening the economy, jobs generation, internet connectivity, innovation advocacy, ease of doing business, agricultural productivity, education, environment. energy efficiency, and infrastructure.
Specifically, PCCI calls on the government to 1) Institutionalize innovation for economic development, 2) Open the economy now and assist businesses to create new jobs, 3) Fully implement ease of doing business, 4) Fast-track internet connectivity at competitive rates, 5) Modernize agriculture for food security, 6) Innovate and digitize the education system, 7) Balance industry growth and environmental protection, 8) Assure adequate power supply at a competitive cost, 9) Make infrastructure a cornerstone of economic development, 10) urge the national government to fast track the completion as scheduled of all infrastructure projects under the BUILD BUILD BUILD program and ensure the transparency in the bids and awards of contracts.
PCCI President Benedicto V. Yujuico hopes government will heed the call of the business sector to implement the short, medium, and long-term proposed solutions to not only go back to normal but to rebound to become more resilient, competitive, innovative, and sustainable.
“We will not concede this projected future amid all the grim outlook from many sectors. We, at PCCI, believe we still have what it takes for a nation to become one of the most robust economies in the world. The Philippine business sector will lead this change,” Yujuico said.
Jose Pardo, Council of Advisers chairman said that PCCI has to take the lead in keeping “economic activism” alive through this set of recommendations that emanated from PCCI-strong membership and industry association across the country.
For his part, 47TH PBC&E Chair Jeffrey T. Ng said that the resolutions will be addressed to the government and aspiring new leaders of the country as we brace for the 2022 national elections.
“What we continue to battle head-on is a complex social, economic, and health challenges and there are no magic bullets. While there are, no doubt, many other proposals on the table, we offer these resolutions containing doable recommendations, proposed legislations and executive actions to guide our economic recovery and bring into the fore those who are in danger of being left behind as we bounce back from the aftermath of the Covid-19 Pandemic,” Ng said.
The PBC, PCCI hopes to generate inspiration and responses from the President and the Vice-President, the top economic managers, leading CEOs, international innovators and most-awaited, from the newly declared Presidential aspirants. The PBC Resolutions is PCCI’s humble contribution to the continuing discussion on how we recover as a nation from the grip of the pandemic.
