The Philippine Online Chronicles

With an explicit honeymoon, rounds of applause, plus a wishlist up for discussion, the country’s business sector is sweetening its lobbying efforts for major policy proposals for the Aquino administration.

Leading the pack is the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), which, in recent months,  has been active in pushing for its economic agenda for the first 100 days of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

On Aquino’s inauguration, the group said it is seeking a dialogue with the President to thresh out the details of its “wishlist” for the new administration, abs-cbnnews.com reported.

PCCI is the country’s largest business organization which includes business giants like San Miguel Corp. as well as small and medium-scale enterprises in its membership. Its members come from a wide range of sectors and industries, from manufacturing to telecommunications and real estate.

The business group, through its president Francis Chua, was among those who praised Aquino in his inaugural address saying he laid down his government’s business and economic policies “loud and clear.”

What’s in the wishlist?

Days before June 30, Chua said PCCI has submitted to Aquino its wishlist which he described as “centered on reforms that the new government needed to institute to improve the country’s investment and business climate.”

An Inquirer.net report said “the reforms mentioned in the draft road map mainly had to do with moving toward a rational fiscal policy, achieving macroeconomic stability and promoting infrastructure development, job creation and reduction in the cost of doing business.”

It remains to be seen whether PCCI’s recommendation for a “rational fiscal policy” would mean proposing new tax measures and other revenue-generating programs, measures that are expected to meet the public’s opposition.

Philippine Star’s Marichu Villanueva said in her column that the business sector’s economic agenda “would likely alienate the new administration to the working classes but which consequence the businessmen’s groups are willing to take the flaks for Aquino.”

Villanueva also disclosed that major business groups joined PCCI in drafting the “wishlist” to the President. Among those included are the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), the Financial Executives of the Philippines (FINEX), the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCII), the Makati Business Club, the Bankers Association of the Philippines, and even the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

With this wide consensus among the country’s biggest business organizations, the “wishlist” apparently has the muscle it needs to make its way through Aquino’s programs and policies, not to mention Aquino’s clear pro-business pronouncements in his inaugural address.

In a later report, PCCI said that included in the business agenda is the demand for the new adminstration to focus on addressing the deficit problem, curtailing smuggling, ensuring an environment conducive to foreign investments, and eliminating corruption on all levels of the government.

“What PCCI submitted to the President is reflective of our strong desire to elevate public-private sector partnership to a new level. We hope to further elaborate these specific measures once we jumpstart our discussions and meetings with the economic team,” Chua said.

Support to the economic team

In its latest show of support to the new administration, PCCI expressed on Monday its full support to the newly-appointed members of Aquino’s economic team.

According to PCCI President Francis Chua, Aquino’s economic team would boost business and investor confidence, noting their “vast experience in providing long term policy solutions and sound advice on addressing issues such as the high budget deficit, improved revenue collection, infrastructure development, bureaucratic red tape, and corruption.”

The economic team is headed by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, who served under ex-President Gloria Arroyo as trade and industry secretary. He is also one of the owners of Prople, an outsourcing company.

Other members of the team are National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) chief Cayetano Paderanga Jr., Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo, and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Henares.

Beyond throwing support, PCCI and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) even asked for a honeymoon for Aquino’s cabinet members.

“Let us welcome the appointments made by the President, give the appointees sufficient time to prove their worth, and spare them from initial criticism as they are just beginning to assume their responsibilities,” ECOP Chairman Miguel B. Varela said in a Business Mirror report.

PCCI and ECOP asked for honeymoon particularly with NEDA chief Paderanga, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, and Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez.

Some observers have criticized Alvarez’s appointment to the Bureau of Customs for the conflict of interest. Alvarez was the former chairman of Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and an executive of freight forwarding firm Airfreight 21000 Inc (Air21), which derives its income from doing business with Customs, Daily Tribune columnist Loui Logarta said.

Labor Code amendments

Aside from the aggressive lobby at the executive branch, business groups are also eyeing to advance its agenda in the legislative field.

Barely three weeks before the May 10 elections, ECOP announced its plan to push for amendments to the Labor Code as stated in the resolution it forged at a national conference of employers,Inquirer.net reported.

ECOP said in its resolution that the Labor Code needs to be revised since it contains “archaic and counter-productive” provisions that allegedly hinders new investments and limits “avenues by which businesses can exercise management prerogative.”

Among the provisions the group wants to scrap is Article 130, which probihits women from doing work at night. It also calls for a review Article 100, which prohibits the elimination or reduction of benefits, saying employers should be given leeway to adjust wages during tough economic times.

ECOP also wants to change Articles 106-109, or the provisions on contracting and subcontracting, arguing that these do not promote “dynamic and flexible work arrangements.”

But labor lawyer Remigio Saladero, Jr. said in his published letter to the Philippine Daily Inquirer that ECOP’s proposed amendments to the Labor Code “should set the alarm bells ringing for our workers.”

He said, for instance, that ECOP’s proposal to change the provisions on contracting and subcontracting will abolish workers’ right to security of tenure and will leave workers at the mercy of labor contractors.

The business sector is steadfast in pushing for its demands with a broad unity to reckon with. Will the diverse Philippine labor sector match this kind of consolidation and united lobbying?

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