Transparency, lowering the cost of doing business particularly on power rates and a plan for President Aquino’s Private-Public Partnership (PPP) projects were the three foremost demands of local executives who converged for the 37th Philippine Business Conference (PBC).
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the largest local business organization, submitted its resolutions yesterday to President Aquino which contains a 14-point sectoral agenda ranging from agricultural development, education and skills development, energy and power reforms, environment, good governance, housing and construction, industry, intellectual property, mining, medium and small enterprise development, taxation, trade, transport and logistics.
The 37th PBC engaged business leaders, government partners and affiliates from PCCI’s 35,000 membership stronghold in more than 100 local chambers and 130 industry associations to finalize the resolutions.
The 14-point PBC sectoral agenda identified three strategic priority areas to improve the country’s global competitiveness, including governance promoting transparency and accountable public institutions, economic sustainability enabling reforms lowering the cost of doing business, ecological sustainability, improved agro-industrial performance, tourism development and globally competitive educational system; and an inter-modal infrastructure roadmap.
Under governance, PCCI urged the government to pursue openness, transparency and effective competition for PPP projects by issuing an executive order on joint ventures, amending the IRR of the BOT Law and reforms on ROWA negotiations. PCCI also urged government to come up with institutional reforms to enhance regulatory functions of Marina and CAAP as well as institutions facilitating housing and construction.
On economic sustainability, PCCI emphasized the need for a legislated Industrialization Policy matched with an ideal competition and trade policy frameworks supporting sector competitiveness, especially in the following: agriculture, manufacturing, mining, energy, transport and communications services, among others.
PCCI also espoused the need for proactive and business friendly policies supporting revenue generation, trade facilitation, environmental sustainability, MSME development, intellectual property rights, tourism development and visa processing, and investments in PPP projects.
PCCI extensively identified measures at addressing the energy and power related concerns of the country.
Foremost, according to PCCI, was the “formulation of a five-year electric power roadmap with specific action programs and milestones focused on bringing power rate to a competitive level; sustaining base and reserve power in Luzon; and resolving the Mindanao power supply situation with a good sense of focus, urgency and application of critical strategy led by the national government and not left alone to private sector initiative.”
On inter-modal infrastructure development, PCCI reiterated its call for a long-term inter-modal infrastructure roadmap supporting growth of business and economic activities in the countryside.
PCCI encouraged government to “bid out a few ready-to-go projects (LRT 1 South Extension, LRT 2 East Extension and CALA) considering that these projects have existing feasibility studies, commercially interesting to the developers and financial institutions, socio-economically viable, part of the government’s priority projects.”
Capping these sector-specific agenda are legislative measures that PCCI urges government to prioritize. These are: national industrialization plan, increased appropriations for agriculture, research and development, science and technology and infrastructure; accession to the Madrid protocol; and, amendments to the Nerbac Law.
PCCI president Francis Chua said the 37th PBC Resolutions highlighted the extensive areas of partnership that PCCI and affiliates presented to the government.
“We are ready, willing and able to engage with government to tackle these measures and look forward to government’s favorable response to our drive for stronger partnership to sharpen our competitive edge,” Chua said. –Daily Tribune
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