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 and become resilient to external shocks, and poise itself for sustainable growth, key business leaders agreed in a recent 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 a virtual roundtable discussion with the theme “Business Agenda for the Next Administration.”
According to Manhit, it is crucial that transparency is institutionalized across all levels of government, both national and local. “After all, transparency reeds good governance, which creates public trust.”
Trust, in turn, encourages investments by the private sector, because “they are integral to national development as these endeavors create jobs, provide income security, and alleviate poverty. Because of this, our country’s next leaders should actively encourage collaboration between the government and the private sector, which has proven itself a trusted and capable partner for development, even during these hard times,” he added.
External shocks
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 noted.
Nonetheless, Barcelon said that the PCCI already has a program, REACH OUT, to bring to the next president. REACH OUT stands for efforts on priority sectors to shore up the economy: reinvigoration of natural resources, education and energy, connectivity, human skills and human dignity, and transformation and transparency.
“It is critical at this point to take urgent and even drastic measures to develop our resilience to external shocks,” he said, emphasizing the development of the agriculture and fishery sectors to ensure self-sufficiency and food security.
House in order
Alfredo Pascual, president of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), talked about the parallels between public governance and corporate governance. He also 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.
“Digital technologies to facilitate efficient and instant transmission and processing of information as well as storing and retrieval of data,” he said. “Thus, digitalization helps implement core values of good governance such as transparency, effectiveness, accountability, and participation of citizens in the case of the public sector. Digitalization can disrupt corruption.”
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 are conducive towards this objective and directive and authority of Arta (Anti Red Tape Authority), which has been working closely with agencies involved to eliminate unnecessary documents and steps,” he said.
He noted that beyond creating and saving jobs, is the need to transform jobs that have become obsolete as industry continue to adapt technological improvements for our businesses.
“Saving and transforming jobs needs investment in education and skills development. Equipping graduates, new hires and employees with the right skills and competencies that will continue to be relevant is a game changer in ensuring productivity, efficiency and competitiveness,” Ortiz stressed.
Valuable partnerships
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. Such a partnership helps fill in the government’s funding or technical gaps, which can allow government to focus on more pressing priorities, he said.
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 Dr. Vicente Paqueo (Issues for the Next Administration’s Development Agenda on Human Capital and Labor Markets).
Good governance and synergies urged for next administration
