The next president of the Philippines should make governance and synergies a priority if the country is to recover from the ravages of the pandemic, become resilient to external shocks, and poise itself for sustainable growth, business leaders said in a forum organized by top think-tank Stratbase ADR Institute.
“There is no better time to effect this fundamental change than now because we are in the midst of a watershed year in our political and economic history,” said Stratbase president Professor Victor Andres “Dindo” Manhit during the virtual roundtable discussion entitled Business Agenda for the Next Administration held March 8.
According to Manhit, it is crucial that transparency is institutionalized across all levels of government, both national and local.
The president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, George Barcelon, acknowledged that uncertainty over the ongoing war in Ukraine has serious ramifications on our country’s economic recovery.
“Higher costs of fuel and power will easily intensify into high inflation and stagnate our economic growth. Even as we are now beginning to rebound economically, somehow we are being pulled back because of this crisis,” he said.
Alfredo Pascual, President of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), talked about the parallels between public governance and corporate governance.
He discussed how the Performance Governance System, a performance management and measurement tool that aims to translate organizational goals into breakthrough results, guided by set performance indicators and metrics as practiced in the private corporate world, is being used to introduce reforms to some government offices.
Pascual said digitalization is one of the most important aspects of good governance.
For Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr., President of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), addressing red tape and transforming jobs is key.
“Business efficiency and productivity also rest on ensuring that regulatory and policy environment is conducive towards this objective and directive and authority of ARTA, which has been working closely
with agencies involved to eliminate unnecessary documents and steps,” he said.
He said that beyond creating and saving jobs, is the need to transform jobs that have become obsolete as we continue to adapt technological improvements for our businesses.
Meanwhile, Makati Business Club Chairman Edgar Chua said the private sector has always played an extensive role in advocating for the further liberalization of the Philippine economy.
“With globalization, there is no alternative but to open up the economy to create more jobs for Filipinos, lower costs for consumers, encourage technology transfer, and improve the competitiveness of the Philippine economy.”
The forum also saw the launch of the special papers written by Stratbase fellows, former Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo, (Pursuing an Investment-Led, More Sustainable Economic
Growth) and Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), Dr. Vicente Paqueo (Issues for the Next Administration’s Development Agenda on Human Capital and Labor Markets).
