Business groups satisfied

MANILA, Philippines - Business groups were generally satisfied with the pronouncements made by President Aquino in his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday, saying he provided plans that would enable the country to continue achieving strong economic growth.

Management Association of the Philippines president Melito Salazar Jr. said in a text message to The STAR that the message of Aquino was loud and clear – that the gains achieved by the administration were all because of good governance.

“I believe the President sounded the need for faster and better results, knowing the few remaining years in office,” he said.

He said he was pleased that the government is determined to continue to demand better performance from public servants to sustain the country’s economic gains, with the good governance thrust helping improve the business environment.

He also said the government’s plan to improve the country’s infrastructure will be beneficial to businesses as well as support the country’s positive economic growth.

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Miguel Varela said their group supports the move of the government to allocate funds to the education and health sectors as this is seen to allow the country to realize its of goal of sustaining economic growth.

Through spending for education and health services, lives of more people will improve and more individuals will be able to contribute to the economy, he said.

He also said he favors the President’s plan to push the passage of some legislative measures such as the rationalization of fiscal incentives to attract more investors.

American Chamber of Commerce president Rhicke Jennings said that for almost two hours, President Aquino articulately described the successes of his administration at its midpoint and communicated well with the people he was elected to serve.

“We wish him and the Philippines many further successes. We would have liked to see more discussion of the priorities listed in the business group’s June 19 letter to President Aquino. The Philippines still has very far to travel on its journey to sustained and inclusive growth and much still remains to be accomplished by this administration,” Jennings said.

Comprehensive manual

Newly designated Senate president pro-tempore Ralph Recto noted that President Aquino “has authored the comprehensive manual on how to achieve inclusive growth” in his SONA.

“It is a manual brimming with details, from income-increasing inter-cropping schemes to refrigerating lapu-lapu, from the number of houses to be built to where flood control projects will be constructed, from entitlements to be reformed to laws to be passed,” Recto said.

Sen. Loren Legarda lauded Aquino’s move to institute disaster risk reduction programs to help the country address climate change concerns. -With Christina Mendez, Paolo Romero, Alexis Romero