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By Ben Arnold O. De Vera, Researcher
FILIPINO businesses are seeking greater state intervention in the
economy as the global meltdown threatened to claim a growing number
of domestic industries.
In its draft 34th Philippine Business Conference
Resolutions, a copy of which was furnished reporters, members of the
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) have proposed a
stronger hand with regard to controlling prices and the use of land,
expediting reforms in the energy sector and public infrastructure
build-up, as well as greater leeway in the matter of taxation.
The tone of the document reflects the global
shift to greater state intervention amid the volatility in financial
markets.
In the agriculture sector, the group wants the
government to permanently ban the conversion of farmland into
non-agriculture use to shield the country from high food prices
worldwide. PCCI also called for cuts in tariffs on farm inputs and
greater government promotion of locally made products abroad. To
protect Filipinos from the influx of substandard and hazardous
items, the group sought tighter quality and sanitary and
phytosanitary requirements, as well as forging bilateral quarantine
agreements with trading partners.
In the energy sector, PCCI wants the government
to declare petroleum as a strategic commodity thereby expediting the
issuance of clearances and permits required under the Indigenous
People’s Resource Act and expedite the privatization of
state-owned power plants to facilitate the shift to an open-access
regime.
On the matter of public infrastructure, the
group called for a permanent 50-centavo charge on text messaging,
development of the Batangas-Clark-Subic corridor to decongest Metro
Manila’s ports, cut shipping costs, expand air access, and
expedite the expansion of the country’s mass transit system. The
chamber also urged requiring contracts to tap homegrown talents and
resources.
In terms of taxation, it wants government to
delete a provision in the Tax Amnesty Law requiring the publication
of the names of taxpayers availing of the amnesty, as well as
relaxing rules on the frequency of tax payments.
The PCCI is set to present today its proposals
to President Arroyo, who will speak during the concluding rites of
the three-day conference.
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