Filipino-Chinese business group backs stimulus measures

MANILA, Philippines — The Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCI) is pushing for various measures to be implemented by the private sector including spending, providing jobs and supporting locally made products to help revive the economy.

In a statement, FFCCCI president Henry Lim Bon Liong said businesses should work together to help breathe life into the economy.

“We encourage entrepreneurs and professionals to spend, spend, spend for the revival of businesses throughout the Philippines, to help vigorously restore consumer confidence and revitalize our economy,” he said.

He said the group is also calling on the banks and the national government to provide liquidity to promote economic recovery.

“We urge banks to extend support to micro, small, medium-scale enterprises many of which now face existential threats and also to big companies which want to consolidate and expand,” he said.

Even as there are challenges faced due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, he said businesses should prioritize keeping the workforce by cutting costs.

He said businesses could also seek out opportunities and start new ventures to create jobs.

With overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) returning to the country amid the global economic slowdown, the private sector can play a role by providing training and employment or encouraging them to set up businesses.

FFCCCI said having affordable prices and sufficient supply of basic goods and medical supplies should also be a priority of businesses.

The group is also pushing for investments in food and agro-industrial ventures to boost domestic food security and food exports.

According to FFCCCI, the private sector can also provide assistance to the agriculture and fishery sectors by extending credit or technical support as well as purchasing products of farmers and fisherfolks.

As e-commerce continues to grow despite the pandemic, Lim said businesses should tap opportunities in this space to cater to a bigger market including consumers overseas.

He said exporters should develop new and higher quality products and services.

“This crisis should be a wake-up call for our Philippine society to change our decades of being too dependent on imports, under-developing our export capabilities and becoming too over-dependent on the foreign currency remittances of our OFWs and seafarers,” he said.

To support the domestic manufacturing industry, FFCCCI is also promoting the purchase of locally made products.

“We believe manufacturing is one of the best ways to lessen poverty and to create more new jobs,” Lim said.

He said businesses could also help encourage more foreign direct investments by inviting firms to consider opportunities in the country and forging partnerships.

“In particular, we encourage our nationwide FFCCCI members and other Filipino Chinese entrepreneurs to leverage our linguistic, kinship and other ties with other dynamic ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs all over the Asia Pacific region and other continents, invite them to invest in the Philippines,” he said.

To help the tourism industry which is among those heavily hit by the pandemic, he said businesses should help the government promote local destinations to foreign tourists, as well as encourage more domestic tourism.

He said now is also the time for the private sector to invest more in  medical and health-related businesses, whether in local manufacturing of face masks, gloves, personal protective equipment, medicines, and hospitals.

As the government is encouraging countryside development, FFCCCI is calling on businesses to make investments outside Metro Manila and other urban areas.

“Let us help decongest our big cities, tap many economic opportunities in our often neglected rural regions, help lessen the rich-poor gap and other inequities between urban and rural regions in the Philippines,” he said.

FFCCCI likewise proposed the construction of affordable housing instead of luxury residential properties to cater to the middle class and other sectors.

The group also urged businesses to promote wellness, as well as to help vulnerable sectors.

Lastly, FFCCCI said businesses should support the government’s reforms for economic growth.