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The newly elected president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (PCCI) said the business group would sustain the
momentum of its 122 years of existence by boosting the Filipinos’
global competitiveness.
Shipping magnate Edgardo Lacson, who assumed the
top PCCI post on Tuesday, said he would spearhead the PCCI’s
efforts to address pertinent issues concerning energy, food
security, education and even the natural environment.
Lacson said the PCCI would employ its so-called
Energy Roadmap, wherein the chamber would help in the implementation
of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, privatization of
the National Power Corp.’s assets, lowering of power generation,
transmission and distribution charges, and realization of
alternative and renewable energy programs and policies amid the
global energy crisis.
“While PCCI remains supportive on the
imposition of VAT on oil products, other measures such as new
investments on power plants and investments in alternative and
renewable energy sources remain as other important priorities in our
energy agenda,” Lacson said.
He also called for long-term planning in the
food sector to better address the food production shortfall, as well
stabilize prices of basic commodities. The PCCI president said his
group supports corporate farming, the use of upgraded farm
technologies and mechanization, as well as the promotion of specific
products of interest to bring about food security.
Lacson noted that there is a “mismatch” of
skills in the Filipino labor sector, and therefore, the PCCI would
push for continuous educational reform through skills upgrading.
The chamber’s president said the PCCI would
continue to monitor infrastructure initiatives, as it continually
collaborates with the government on key projects. He also said the
business group supports Philippine participation in the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations’ economic integration, foreign trade
agreements and the ratification of the Japan Philippines Economic
Partnership Agreement and Revised Kyodo Convention.
“These trade agreements are important in our
effort to muster our competitiveness might in a global scale and
broaden our investment perspectives and prospects for economic
development,” he said.
Despite the opportunities these trade treaties
provide, he said the plight of local micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSMEs), including the job and income they support and
provide, must be attended to.
About 80 percent of PCCI members are MSMEs,
thus, the PCCI champions their development.
The PCCI president also said an expansion of the
country’s mining industry could further boost the economy, adding
the Philippines is considered the fifth most mineralized country in
the world. But Lacson stressed that responsible mining should be
pursued to preserve and protect the natural resources.
-- Ben Arnold de Vera
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