Economic manager list progress on policy recommendations

By Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine Star), Aug 10, 2017

MANILA, Philippines – Progress has been made on several policy recommendations submitted by the business community at the start of the Duterte administration, economic managers said yesterday.

Businessmen, represented by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the Mindanao Business Council, presented during the first Sulong Pilipinas Forum held in Davao City last year a list of 10 “actionable recommendations” geared toward changing the direction of the economy to one with a stable base for the growth of agriculture and fishery, industry, services, as well as micro, small and medium enterprises.

They also made policy recommendations for attaining “transparent and responsive governance” and ”a dependable bureaucracy.” At the same time, the business sector emphasized the need for a “proactive and evolving agenda” for jobs creation, supported by physical infrastructure and human resources development.

These recommendations include the adoption of a comprehensive tax reform package, establishment of a national ID system for improved targeting of social services, improving the ease of doing business, improving internet and telecommunications services, delivery of support services to farmers, implementation of responsible mining alongside local value-added processing, development of regional industries and local work force, improving the transport network across the country, review of the conditional cash transfer program and reduction of bottlenecks on the implementation of the public-private partnership scheme and respect for government contracts.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said the first Sulong Pilipinas forum has been an “effective mechanism in providing all sectors a voice in shaping state policy.”

In a presentation made during the second Sulong Pilipinas Forum held in Pasig City yesterday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said with the approval of the first package of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program by Congress and the President’s certification of the bill as urgent, the package containing adjustments to corporate and income tax as well as offsetting measures is expected to be approved by the Senate within the year.

Dominguez said the tax reform program supports the government’s ambitious infrastructure program, build a strong middle class and encourage investments.

The Department of Budget and Management, has also submitted a draft executive order to President Duterte that will introduce amendments to the Unified Multi-Purpose Identification System (UMID). Under the draft order, a so-called UMID+ will be implemented to reduce transaction costs, make it easier for the poor to access government social services and prevent leakages in the provision of conditional cash transfers, healthcare and other benefits.

On improving the ease of doing business, Pernia said reforms are now being carried out by the Department of Trade and Industry to streamline the business permitting process. The department, he said, is also targeting the full implementation by 2020 of the Philippine Business Registry (PBR), a one-stop shop for permits processing.

“Twenty LGUs (local government units) are being prepared this year to be connected to the PBR for them to facilitate start-ups and help reduce transaction costs,” he said.

The Ease of Doing Business Act/Fast Business Permit act has also been endorsed as a priority piece of legislation by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council.

In terms of improving internet and communications services, Pernia said the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 supports the creation and implementation of a National Broadband Plan as well as the adoption and enforcement of open access and “effective competition in the telecoms market.”

“The NEDA secretariat supported in principle House Bill 2871 or Open Access in Data Transmission Act, which is in line with this key reform,” he said.

In terms of providing support services to farmers, Pernia said pertinent government agencies and corporations have shown an increasing budgetary outlay for value chain development in agriculture for fiscal years 2016 to 2018 (17 percent increase in 2017 and 19 percent increase in 2019). These interventions cover research and development, production support, extension services and market development services.

On promoting value-added processing of mineral resources alongside responsible mining, Pernia said the roadmap for the copper industry has been completed and the government is now working on roadmaps for gold, nickel, chromite and iron.

“These roadmaps will ensure that processing of minerals is based on the location, availability and quality of metallic ore including the demand of its products,” he said.