New PCCI board to press for low costs of business

By Rachel O. Acosta

Contributor

Alfredo M. Yao, newly-elected president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), outlined the work program of PCCI for 2014-2015, which will focus on enabling Philippine companies to maximize benefits from the business opportunities created by a global economy.

Yao, who chairs Zest-O and the Philippine Business Bank and founder of Zest Air (now AirAsia Zest), said that the work program will focus on reducing the cost of doing business, ensuring a competitive fiscal regime, aligning human resource development with industry and international standards, promoting SME and business development, improving agriculture productivity and promoting a robust legal framework for investments.

Explaining PCCI’s strategy for achieving these, Yao said, “PCCI will be closely engaging government and other development partners and stakeholders in our advocacies, projects and services aimed at increasing competitiveness, economic expansion, and jobs creation through quality investments and strong, diverse, economically viable industries and enterprises.”

To ensure a more cohesive approach in carrying out its programmes, Yao urged PCCI’s corporate members, industry associations, business councils and nationwide local chambers to get involved in PCCI’s sectoral committees led by the PCCI Board.

Yao said their efforts to reduce the cost of doing business involves streamlining of business permits and licenses, improvements of transaction costs and flows through the National Single Window and Philippine business registry, and institutionalization of a strong investors’ assistance office coordinated with government agencies and local government units.

They also include acceleration of transport infrastructure, ensuring sufficiency and reliability of power supply and competitiveness of electricity and fuel rates, promoting a competitive fiscal regime, streamlining environmental regulations balanced with demands for business growth, and maintaining a competitive exchange rate.

Advocacies and activities seeking the consistency of local ordinances with regulations, decisions and policies of the national government in relation to fiscal incentives and taxation policies will also be pursued.

PCCI will also implement programs to improve skills, and establishing tie-ups of industries with universities and training institutions.

In attaining SMEs and business development, the PCCI will focus on trade and investment facilitation and promotion, improving access to credit, creation of common service facilities for SMEs.

Achieve increased agriculture productivity, PCCI will help develop roadmaps for key agricultural and fisheries commodities.

The promote increased investments, PCCI will also push for the passage of priority legislative measures and/or enactment of executive policies, easing up of the restrictive provision of the Constitution and foreign investment negative list, and strengthening protection of intellectual property rights.