P-Noy to focus on jobs, business environment in remaining term

MANILA, Philippines - Promoting a more conducive business environment remains one of the main priorities of President Aquino  in the remaining two-and-a-half years of his term as the Philippines focuses on fiscal and structural efforts toward inclusive growth.

During the Philippine Development Forum in Davao, Aquino’s top economic managers stressed that job creation is essential for rapid, sustained and  inclusive economic growth.

In the next three years, the administration will focus on creating the environment for the private sector to create jobs, especially in Mindanao, and in the agriculture and tourism sectors.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said the government remains focused on the inclusive growth and governance agenda and will continue to streamline business registrations in the country to make them reliable and efficient for those who want to invest.

For his part, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balicasan said the “big challenge is to continue improving the investment climate to offer profitable opportunities and channel these savings to productive use that generates jobs.”

“To support this agenda, Congress needs to enact critical laws such as the National Land Use Code, the Competition Policy Law, and the Cabotage Law. These would have country-wide impacts, but more so in Mindanao, which is recognized as the food basket of the country and where inclusive growth would make the greatest difference in people’s lives,” Balicasan pointed out.

Balicasan said the government also needs to address the critical constraints to investments, particularly high power cost, poor infrastructure, policy inconsistencies and administrative inefficiencies.

The government intends to ramp up infrastructure spending from three percent  to five percent  of GDP by 2016 and put in place a coherent and efficient transport roadmap with links to key areas to achieve better convergence at the national, regional and local levels.

“We will provide the necessary environment to encourage not only the big companies but also the micro, small and medium enterprises to be our partners in development through marketing assistance, access to credit and reduced red tape,” Balicasan said.

On the rule of law, the government continues to re-establish trust in the justice system while continuously addressing challenges through strengthening information systems, linking budget performance for state institutions and better interface between state and non-state justice institutions.

Climate change and disaster risks were also identified as a critical sustainable development and national security issue. The government continues to address this through a comprehensive and innovative climate change and disaster reform agenda comparable to world standards.

The administration aims to complete the reforms, address bottlenecks and speed implementation before the end of his term.