Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 19) — Business leaders want to hear concrete steps from President Rodrigo Duterte on how he plans to attract more foreign investments to the Philippines during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.
While most of them are satisfied with Duterte’s first three years in office, top Philippine businessmen have pointed out that new pro-labor laws passed or pending before Congress could scare away investors, stressing that these would only jack up operating costs here.
George Barcelon, chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the recent law extending the maternity leave for female workers to 105 days is an added burden to businesses. As if that’s not enough, a bill banning contractual employment is pending before Malacañang, while Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III also put forward a measure that will require companies to pay a 14th month pay to their employees.
“Ang labor sector ayaw tanggapin that the law is there to protect them… it’s prejudicial. And the Senate President was introducing this 14th month (pay), manufacturers already pay the 13th month and that’s not the only amount we give. We don’t want to price ourselves out of competition,” Barcelon said during Friday’s Pandesal Forum in at the Kamuning Bakery in Quezon City.
Earlier this week, foreign and Philippine business chambers released a statement asking Duterte to veto the “end endo” bill, with Barcelon calling the measure “superfluous.” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said their plea will be considered.
READ: Duterte certifies anti-labor-only contracting bill as urgent — Palace
“Our appeal, and also to our legislators, is that we will have to make our country more attractive and more competitive… Mahirap ‘yung number of days given to maternity leave,” Barcelon added. “Ang labor natin [Our labor] is high per se compared to other ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries.”
Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Gerardo Sicat again stressed the need to amend the Constitution to remove restrictive limits on foreign ownership, saying this has held back potential investments for so long. Currently, foreign firms need to have local partners across major industries to be able to operate here.
Sicat is also calling for the passage of the other tax reform plans of the Department of Finance to boost state revenues. He also encouraged the state to focus on keeping rice prices low, saying that this will “hopefully reduce” demand for big-time wage increases from the labor sector.
Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr., president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines, also gave his wish list for the 18th Congress, which include the passage of the Public Service Act and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act. To add, the corporate executives also blamed the high cost of power and transport in the country, worsened by congested roads and ports that disrupt the flow of goods.
The Philippines received $1.94 billion worth of foreign direct investments from January-March, which is dwarfed by the amounts that flew into other countries within the region. Malaysia received $5.66 billion, Indonesia got $5.99 billion, and Singapore took $24.43 billion in foreign investments during the period, according to central bank data.
Duterte signed the Ease of Doing Business law in May 2018, which aims to cut bureaucratic red tape for business transactions and permits with government.
