VP calls for pro-biz gov't

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President Jejomar Binay has urged government to work with business, not against it, if it wants to make the economy work.

Binay, who also chairs the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), said that a pro-business government is one of the ways to encourage investments.

In his speech before last week’s Philippine Real Estate Festival (PREF) which carries the theme “Global tourism and Real Estate Development: Sunrise Industries for the Philippine Economy,” the Vice President also pointed out that a government that works with business will also prevent entrepreneurs, managers, professionals and workers from leaving the country.

 “It is the people that make the economy work: investors, entrepreneurs, managers, professionals and workers. But those people won’t come and those already here will leave if our society keeps failing,” he said.

In order to bring investors in and prevent an exodus of its workforce, Binay also emphasized that there is a need to promote peace and the rule of law, and to maintain the dignity of the country’s democratic institutions.

Aside from the fact that it is people that make the economy work, he revealed that there are two other insights that he has learned in his 21 years as mayor of Makati.

One is that it is government that makes society works, protects investments, shares the vision of entrepreneurs and its own vision with them, inspires managers with inspired governance, upholds the dignity of the professions, and invests in social programs to invest workers with good health and good education.

Another insight, Binay pointed out, is that it is being better than others - in attracting investments, producing goods and providing services - that the economy grows and society prospers.

The Vice President also noted that the Joint Foreign Chambers was right when it said that infrastructure and tourism can bring in prosperity to the country.

 “Your festival theme captures that vision very well. This real estate festival is a venue for that dream to be realized and put into action,” he said.

He added that the PREF brings together some of the best minds that the country has produced, especially in the fields of business, architecture, real estate and tourism management. “It is my hope that the ideas generated would not just stay here, but would be put into good use by the majority of our people. In this venue, I do not merely see realtors, architects and developers. I see people who are agents of change, leaders, and pioneers. I see hope. I see success. In all of your eyes, I see a bright future and a prosperous Philippines,” Binay emphasized.