ECOP backs parliamentary—federal form of government

The country’s biggest group of employers, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), favors a shift to a parliamentary-federal type of government and prefers that changes in the Constitution be proposed through a Constitutional Convention rather than through a Constitutional Assembly.

This was the statement of ECOP president Rene Y. Soriano issued yesterday.

A federal form, Soriano said, would boost business activities and create more employment opportunities in the provinces and the regions.

Local leaders, the ECOP president said, will be directly accountable to their constituents for the rates of economic growth, the physical infrastructures such as farm-to-market roads and bridges, and social infrastructures such as quality education that matches the skills required by industries.

The Filipino people want a form of government that works, he said, adding that even President Arroyo also prefers the switch from the presidential form to a parliamentary-federal form of government.

Federal officials will ensure that their economic policies will attract more investments and will create job vacancies for their constituents, he said. Metro Manila will be decongested and industries will be dispersed.

Decisions will also be more speedy and implementation will be more effective because the local leaders could closely track compliance with quality, costs and deadlines, Soriano said.

Because the impact is increased opportunities for employment in the countryside, the proposal for a federal form of government is a main issue that participants to the Employers Summit on Employment and Industrial Relations will tackle on Aug. 23 and 24 at the Philippine Trade Training Center.

He said that simultaneous job fairs will be held in various sites in Metro Manila.

Employers believe also that a Con-Con with elected delegates will give communities the opportunity to speak out and propose changes that reflect the will of residents, he said.

While elected senators and congressmen make the laws, the plain folks and the non-politicians who are elected to the Con-Con will write the principles and rules that will guide lawmakers, he said.

ECOP is the single voice of the private sector in matters of labor, social and industrial relations policies. The chamber represents employers in consultations for wage adjustments and other labor-management issues.

Soriano also endorsed the appointment of Angelo Reyes as the new secretary of interior and local governments.

Already experienced in navigating a bureaucracy to meet people’s priorities, Reyes will accomplish his tasks and help the President attain her vision of alleviating poverty, Soriano said.