Soul issues and business concerns

The Arangkada Forum is the yearly culminating event of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce of the Philippines (JFC) for its Arangkada Philippines Project (TAPP). The JFC focuses on the “Seven Big Winner Sectors” (agribusiness, creative industries, infrastructure, manufacturing and logistics, mining and tourism) identified as key to more rapid economic growth in the Philippines. Thus was “Arangkada” chosen as project name — “arangkada” in Filipino means “acceleration” or a revving-up of the engine (of growth). Arangkada has done in-depth empirical research on constraints to more rapid economic growth, and has actively advocated for reforms to create a better business environment and investment climate in the Philippines.

“Implementing the Ten-point Agenda” is the theme of the Arangkada 2017 forum on Sept. 14 (Marriott Hotel), where Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia will speak on the Philippine Development Plan and Ambisyon 2040, and Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno will talk on the “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure projects of the Duterte administration. From this forum, the JFC will release a new summary Arangkada document with pro-business and investment policies, and with updated comments and recommendations for that revving-up of the Philippine economy.

At the pre-event press briefing held last week for Arangkada 2017 the first question asked was, “How about peace and order, as it impacts the Philippine investment climate? Will this be discussed?”

Mr. Julian Payne, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce pointed out that “all business looks to a peaceful, secure investment climate. As long as this is being addressed, it’s OK for business.”

Mr. Guenter Taus, president of the European Chamber of Commerce declared that “we can live with risk. But we cannot live with uncertainty, which is intangible and cannot be measured. We hesitate if we do not know what we are getting into. We need to market ourselves worldwide — we just go somewhere else.”

Mr. Taus pointed out that business process outsourcing (BPO), one of JFC chosen Seven Big Winner Sectors has enabled the middle class to rise. We also need to move forward in agribusiness, he stressed. The average age of farmers is 57 years old — the youth has to take over. Why is the political governance not pushing the Seven Big Winner sectors enough, he asked?

Mr. Bruce Winton, president of the American Chamber of Commerce (and Cluster manager for Marriott International Hotels in Manila and Iloilo) concurred that “business investment is a big decision. But generally, tourists are not too concerned about peace and order.” Mr. Winton said that hotel occupancies and tourist arrivals have not waned.

Mr. Ho Ik Lee, president of the Korean Chamber of Commerce agreed that tourists are not noticeably afraid of the peace and order situation. He said that the number of Korean tourist arrivals in the Philippines has reached 1.5 million/year, and is still increasing.

But Mr. Ho worried that Korean businesses are leaving the Philippines and moving to Vietnam because the costs here are almost three times higher than Vietnam’s. This higher cost is killing manufacturing because logistics cost is too high here and the government, BoC (Bureau of Customs), and the others are also another point,” he said.

Mr. Payne (Canada) reverted to the impact of peace and order on business, saying that “the Chambers (JFC) need balanced media reporting — but more of good news and less of the bad news…Thailand has problems but does not advertise it in the headlines,” Mr. Payne noted. A murmur rose in the audience of media people, who clearly remember the headlines in Thai news about corruption scandals in government, and the bloody coups that established successions of military rule.

Whereupon a statement had to be made in defense of the Philippine press, and in reminding of the basic ethic of journalism: to tell the true story, to inform accurately, whether news is good and heartening or bad and ugly. When there are soul issues in a society, these are priority versus making money. Soul issues — like graft and corruption in government and the maniacal end-justifies-the-means that has killed thousands in the blind fury of a drug war — these cannot NOT be mentioned, as if these did not exist. Peace and order by its name, comes from the integrity of laws and rights.

At the ASEAN World Economic Forum (WEF) in Cambodia, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia underscored the importance of peace and order for the economy to thrive (The Manila Times, 05.29.2017).

“It’s not a 10-point agenda. To remember this, it’s a zero to 10-point agenda, socioeconomic agenda and the zero is precisely peace and order,” Pernia said. “Fighting criminality, fighting corruption, fighting smuggling and peace and order. And that’s because zero is the origin of the 1 to 10 points socioeconomic agenda. It’s the bedrock that has to be addressed,” he added (Ibid.).

“President Duterte is addressing that main bedrock of the 10-point economic agenda so that the [agenda] can materialize. Without this bedrock, then it will be difficult for the economy to thrive and flourish and for the country to prosper,” according to Pernia.

When Secretary Pernia speaks at the Sixth Arangkada forum — will he explain how and why the government’s economic plan is not “The Ten-point Agenda,” but the “Zero to 10-point Agenda,” as he so vehemently distinguished?

Amelia H. C. Ylagan is a Doctor of Business Administration from the University of the Philippines.

ahcylagan@yahoo.com