FEB.

12, 2014

NR # 3375E

Business leaders support economic change of Constitution, Bangsamoro basic law, other priority bills
The meeting of House leaders with the Philippine business groups and the Joint Foreign Chambers today elicited support from business leaders for the passage of various proposed measures and reform of priority concern for the Second Regular Session of the 1 th Congress! For one" the bid to rela# restrictive economic provisions of the Constitution as raised by Spea$er Feliciano %elmonte" Jr! was boosted by the statement of support given by Ramon del Rosario" chairman of the &a$ati %usiness Club! '( reali)ed that the amendments proposed by the Spea$er are e#tremely important steps but they are only the first step because eventually you will have to deal with legislation that will open up some sectors of our economy to allow the inflow of investments! *e really need to act with great urgency"+ said del Rosario! ,el Rosario said the Spea$er gave a powerful rationale to revise or amend the economic provisions of the Constitution! '*hile we are very proud of the country-s economic performance with the .,P e#panding by /!0 percent in 0112" ( thin$ we are more in agreement that economic growth is lac$ing precisely with the points raised by the Spea$er! 3nemployment and underemployment continue to be e#tremely high! 4ven government statistics tell us that the combined rate is 0 !5 percent"+ he said! He said what must be done is to improve the country-s environment for 6ob creation and that means improving the environment for increased investments! '7ou need investments to create 6obs! There is no other way around it! *ithout additional and massive investments" you will not be able to create the 6obs that our economy needs" and that ( thin$ is the most important point! There is a great sense of urgency that we need to adopt in facing this issue"+ said del Rosario! 8ver the last three years" he said the country has gained the respect and admiration of a large portion of the world in terms of its improved governance and improved investment grade credit ratings! '*e are being viewed with renewed interest and we must ta$e advantage of it because it is not always that the Philippines is en6oying the situation" and ( thin$ we must ta$e advantage of it while it is there"+ he said! '( thin$ it is a good time to do it 9charter revision: because the rest of the world is interested in us! There are also geo;political developments in parts of the world such as what is happening in China and the impact that it has had on our neighbour Japan" and the fact this has translated" ( thin$ to greater interest of Japan in our country once again"+ he said! That interest" del Rosario" said is in manufacturing facilities" in terms of alternative sites for Japan-s manufacturing bases! '<nd so again" this is a situation that demands us to act and act

=uic$ly! The developments in Thailand are also reasons why ( guess there are countries loo$ing up for alternative sites for their investment bases! <nd the Philippines stands out as an area now of stability" of great productivity" of great potential in terms of si)e of the mar$et"+ said del Rosario! Relatedly" he said the impending peace in &indanao also enhances or further emphasi)es the need to act on the Constitution because of the need to attract much in terms of investments in &indanao! '( thin$ one of the ways in which peace in &indanao will be gained" enhanced and sustained is through economic development" and that too will re=uire a great degree of investments pouring in &indanao! ( thin$ with the cost of the needs of our economy for infrastructure" for utilities and economic activities of this nature" the time has really come for us to really seriously open up our Constitution"+ he said! 8n the Freedom of (nformation 9F8(: bill" del Rosario said this is needed in institutionali)ing the culture of transparency and accountability so it carries on beyond the present administration! 'The F8( is the foundation is our economic performance that we-ve gained through good governance" openness and accountability"+ said del Rosario! &eanwhile" Henry Schumacher" pro6ect director of the (ntegrity (nitiative" reacting on the *histleblowers <ct and <mendment to the *itness Protection <ct" said incentives should be given to companies subscribing to clean and ethical business and that whistleblowers are needed to address corruption and cartel;li$e behaviour" and therefore should be protected! 8n the %angsamoro %asic >aw" according to Cali#to Chi$iamco" president of the Foundation of 4conomic Freedom" the draft law to be submitted by the %angsamoro Transition Commission should be swiftly passed in order to complete the comprehensive peace agreement on the %angsamoro and pave the way for peace and prosperity in the region! John Forbes" senior adviser of the <merican Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines said the investment restrictions in specific laws cited in the Foreign (nvestment ?egative >ist proposal should be removed! He also said the Foreign (nvestment <ct and the Retail Trade >aw should be amended! <lfredo 7ao" president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and (ndustry 9PCCC(: said on the Fair Competition >aw" there should be a level playing field for businesses to provide better services and products! 8n the Cabotage >aw amendment" &ichael Raeuber" president of the 4uropean Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines" said the cost of domestic maritime transportation should be lowered! 921: rbb