Missed in SONA

Sergio Ortiz-Luis, chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said President Aquino missed the chance to talk about mining to assure investors who had been waiting for more than a year to know exactly where they would head to. Also missed in yesterday’s State of the Nation Address, Ortiz-Luis said, are pronouncements that would benefit the SMEs. But Ortiz-Luis said business welcomes President Aquino’s plan on Cabotage law the first president to tackle it head on. “Previous presidents ignored Cabotage. But this president tackled it headon, amending the law would benefit businesses in the Visayas and Mindanao,” Ortiz-Luis said. “We always hear about how it is more expensive to ship from Manila to Davao than it is to ship from Manila to Japan because of this restriction,” Ortiz-Luis said. Melito Salazar Jr., president of Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), said while it was good that Aquino mentioned amendments on Cabotage Law and fiscal incentives, but missed others in their wishlist. Salazar said the President should have used the occasion to prod other branches - judiciary and legislature to do their share – in good governance. Salazar said he wanted to President Aquino to identify areas where the public could do their share. “A call for national discipline and following rules and regulations especially traffic laws would have been good,” Salazar said in a text message. Lorenzo Tan, president of Bankers Association of the Philippines and RCBC said the SONA was “very encouraging.”