Sycip gives government economic team high marks

MANILA, Philippines – The government’s economic team reaped praises from leading Filipino-Chinese businessman Washington Sycip for accepting meager pay just to fix the Philippine economy but added that he had no confidence in the country’s legislative system.

“I want to thank you for spending time sacrificing income to serve the country...but while I have confidence in the technocrats, I have no confidence in the legislative process,” Sycip said as he briefly stole the limelight during yesterday’s mid-year Philippine Economic Briefing.

He said that in earlier times, the Philippines soared ahead of its peers in the region.

“Why are we now behind Indonesia?” Sycip asked the panel that included Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr., Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

He said it is in the legislative process that forces technocrats to implement rules and regulations that are stupid. “What can we do to improve quality of legislation?” Sycip said.

He asked for an assurance from the economic managers not to extend the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

Launched in 1988, during the term of former President Corazon Aquino, the CARP was supposed to run for 20 years but it has been extended several times.

The program sought to redistribute land to Filipino farmers.

“Can I have an assurance that the technocrats will not extend the CARP?” Sycip asked.

However, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the country’s social problems and the communist insurgency may be traced to the problem of land distribution.

“Social conflicts are traced to land. If we don’t deal with that problem I don’t think we can have peace,” Abad said.

As such, he said completing CARP is important.

During yesterday’s economic briefing held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), economic managers stressed that good governance is good economics.

“It is all about executing the agenda of President Aquino in the area of good governance, in the area of investments, in the area of policy alignment. So far, we’ve been getting dividends from this agenda in terms of more confidence from the market...more confidence from investors,” Purisima said.