The Management Association of the Philippines, one of the most influential business groups in the country, underscored the need for consistency and regularity of policies amid the exacerbating political feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte.
MAP president Rene Almendras said the competitiveness of the Philippines as an investment destination is affected by its image and reputation as a country, with businesses looking at consistency and regularity of policy.
“I am hoping that that will continue to be and will be emphasized as we go through these politically challenging times,” Almendras said at the sidelines of the MAP general membership meeting and awarding of the MAP Management Person of the Year 2024 at Shangri-La The Fort in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
The MAP named Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. president and chief executive Rogelio Singson as the Management Person of the Year 2024. Singson is a former secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways, while Almendras served as secretary of the Cabinet, Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Energy under the administration of the late President Benigno Aquino III.
Almendras was responding to questions on the impact of the widening rift between President Marcos and Vice President Duterte who disclosed an assassination plot.
Almendras said political leaders should assure local and foreign investors about the consistency of its economic policies. “We need to show the world that we are still consistent, and we still have the regular business-as-usual situation,” he said.
The MAP also said that the policies of US president-elect Donald Trump might also affect the global economy.
“Everybody’s waiting for what the new US President will roll out as far as his international policy will be. There are many questions as to whether are we going to see a trade war. Are we not going to see a trade war? Or if there will be, to what extent it will be?” he said.
He said the Philippines would also be affected by new trade policies and geopolitical developments.
The Philippine peso recently hit a new low against the US dollar as investors sought the safety of the greenback amid uncertainties and volatilities in the financial markets.
