PBBM asks business leaders: Work with government

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos has urged business leaders and decision makers from Asia-Pacific economies to forge stronger ties and work closely with their respective governments for policy and legislative transformation, highlighting the importance of the private sector to promote healthy economic growth.

Marcos, a guest of honor and keynote speaker of the third leg of the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) Business Advisory Council (ABAC) at NUSTAR Convention Center yesterday, also recognized the business sector’s role in ensuring growth and development in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Finally, we need not only the cooperation but the leadership of the business sector in setting up standards on responsible business conduct that will encourage sustainable practices while balancing rapid growth, not a simple job to do,” he said.

Citing the APEC CEO Summit in Bangkok last year, Marcos highlighted the need to accelerate their efforts to address structural and policy issues with the view of enabling rapid economic recovery and growth in a swift and sustained manner that creates jobs, draws more people into the mainstream economy, and reduces poverty and inequality.

In the Philippines, he said that the long-term AmBisyon Natin 2040 or our ambition for 2040 is shooting for a comfortable, secure, and strongly rooted Filipinos, where no one is poor or left behind.

“We aim to achieve this through, amongst others, strengthening agriculture and food production, industrialization, connectivity, and supply chains; driving growth through tourism, through trade, urban development; providing high-impact social services for health, education, skills uptake, and targeted support; building climate-resilient and green infrastructure that will not only sustain our economic growth but will also trickle welfare effects down to our most underserved sectors and those with untapped economic potential,” Marcos said.

FOOD STAMPS

He added that in food security and nutrition, the country has rolled out food stamps to quell hunger and thus boost productivity, and reintroduced nutrition programs in schools so that our students can focus on learning.

On top of the programs to provide agricultural lands to youth committed to contribute to efforts in resilient and sustainable food production, Marcos said that under the new Agrarian Emancipation Act, it has condoned the debts of over 610,000 farmers in our commitment to equitable land distribution.

“Our efforts will not waver until we will have broadened the provision of credit facilities and other support services, upgraded the skills of our farmers and have provided high technology equipment and facilities, and connected them to demand sources through more and better farm-to-market roads and farm-to-consumer markets,” he said.

He pointed to digitalization and innovation as key factors to providing an enabling environment for APEC’s regional economic integration, just, inclusive, and sustainable transition through workforce upskilling and provision of green jobs and strengthening structural reforms and macroeconomic fundamentals by promoting positive economic shifts.

He also claimed his government has set out roadmaps to ensure that it captures these opportunities while addressing the concomitant challenges by enacting and enforcing e-commerce, e-governance, and innovation, and have also made legislative reforms to make business environment more conducive to the next generation’s trade and investment, including Foreign Investments Act amendments and the now active in the Philippines, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

ABAC HOSTING

The president also commended ABAC Philippines for hosting the event in Cebu and urged them to not only find inspiration from the surroundings to accomplish the deliverables it has set out in the agenda but to also “leverage” the tools available at their disposal to find a common understanding.

ABAC Philippines Member and Sustainable Growth Working Group Vice Chair Sabin Aboitiz said the Philippines’ hosting of the most important gathering of business leaders showcased the country’s readiness to do business with foreign investors.

He said the Philippines is expected to take prominent attention from investors overseas following its hosting.

The third leg of ABAC provides an opportunity to showcase the Philippines’ potential as an investment destination and to foster greater regional cooperation and integration.

In an interview, Aboitiz said the impact of the three-day regional confab is not only to display the Philippines’ economic resilience fresh from the pandemic and other economic distractions, but also to make stronger ties with decision makers across the region to create a louder voice in bannering Asia’s stance in the adoption of sustainability programs.

Aboitiz, who is also the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Cebu-grown conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV), said the economic resiliency of the country is proven by the positive path the GDP is heading with close seven percent growth “the number says it all.”

The commitment to work together and learn from each other’s best practices particularly in technology adaption, sustainability programs like promoting renewable energy, will make Asia’s “voice louder than anybody else’s voice.”

Following the theme “Equity, Sustainability, and Opportunity,” ABAC Philippines aims to encourage more fruitful discussions and collaborations between business leaders, policymakers, and other stakeholders in the region.

This year’s theme puts a spotlight on the critical role of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the global economy, as well as the evolving environment, social, and governance (ESG) investing landscape.

After the summit, the ABAC III advisory council will formulate bigger policies to affect changes to attain the sustainability goals across the region.

Meanwhile, ABAC 2023 Chairperson Dominic Ng described Cebu’s hospitality as “just absolutely amazing” during the welcome dinner on July 27, 2023 for the delegates.

Top business leaders from the 21 APEC Economies will be discussing ABAC’s approved 2023 Work Program and will be highlighting several issues such as economic integration, sustainable growth, financial services, inclusion, digitalization and innovation.

PEACEFUL

Meanwhile, the Police Regional Office-7 did not encounter any problem encountered during Marcos’ visit.

PRO-7 Spokesperson Police Lt. Col. Gerard Ace Pelare said that they have implemented security preparations from the AFP, PNP, Local Government Units and other Government agencies.

They did not see anyone holding a protest, but the police previously revealed that if there is a rally, they have contingency plans to ensure that it does not become a threat to security. –/GAN