by Wesly Paul Cortez
This election cycle brought out all the possible advocacies from our candidates. From Enrile’s “Pagkain, maraming pagkain”, Belgica’s “flat tax system” to Cayetano’s “Presyo, Trabaho, Kita”, we see a varied sense of what our soon-to-be legislators have in mind once elected into office.
What’s troubling to most business practitioners, not to mention students like me in the School of Business, is the lack of focus from our senatoriables on pursuing policies and programs that are favorable to the welfare of markets, businesses and industries. A major letdown has been the dismissal of businesses into the general program of action by the two major parties – Team PNoy and the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).
The fact is that most senatoriables capitalize on worker’s welfare, increased pay, livelihood and training programs, and the like as viable platforms which could lead to an increase in economic productivity (all of which are very valid platforms, needless to say); there is little or no mention at all by candidates of what they’ll do about luring business into the country, making business processes more expedient in government, how to give grants to small and medium enterprises gasping for needed funds, among other things.
The way the political discourse this election season has given attention to business in the country is abysmal, to say the least. What can we do to small businesses in the rural areas that are lucrative, with unique selling propositions but don’t have access to needed capital? Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) comprise 99.6% of all business enterprises doing business in the country, employing 61% of the labor force, as per the 2011 survey of the Department of Trade and Industry. Consequently, in the same study, the remaining 0.4% of large enterprises, predominantly multinational companies (MNCs) provide for a whopping 39% of total employment contribution.
That being said, how can we keep, or better yet, increase, the number of international firms doing business in the Philippines to contribute more to local employment? Do we reduce taxes? Do we give them deductible government charges? Case in point, country exports provide a glimpse of how we fare in the global marketplace. Our MSMEs provide 25% of the country’s total exports income, with some even being subcontracted by MNCs for supplies, which eventually are exported as well. Have we set an incentive system in place for these firms that are promoting Philippine-made products in the global marketplace?
Government, starting with the legislature, should seriously consider mechanisms to pump-prime business into our country, specifically MSMEs, to provide for inclusive growth even to those in rural areas. A notable case is Singapore, which legislated a number of initiatives to provide start-ups adequate access to funding to help business grow and increase the conduciveness of business environments to its entrepreneurs. Equity financing schemes, cash grants and business incubation are just a few ways government helps small businesses to produce more and subsequently, earn more.
Not to polarize our MSMEs, but for providing employment to a substantial chunk of our labor force, MNCs should also be given ample consideration by the incoming legislators. According to the benchmarked study conducted by the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank, the country is ranked 138th in the “Ease of Doing Business” category, performing below countries like the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and even the Polynesian country of Samoa, which ranked 57th! What will be the government’s agenda to facilitate the swifter transaction of businesses in putting up shop in the country? Since we are now in a sweet spot to bring in foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the country, what are the incentives we can pose to businesses that will make them prefer us to our neighbors who have competitively lower utilities cost and labor?
Speaking in practical terms, candidates would more likely focus on issues that are close to the hearts of Filipinos – presyo ng bilihin, kalidad ng edukasyon, at korupsyon sa gobyerno. Samakatuwid, hindi mabenta ang isyu ng “business” sa madla. But what these candidates do not realize is that all the above mentioned would, at some point, be influenced by the business agenda they set forth in Congress. If we pass bills that would help create a more conducive environment for firms to conduct business, then it would help in the lowering cost of products, increase spending in education, and curb corruption in the long run.
The lifeblood of our economy lies in the various enterprises across the archipelago, and yet we rarely hear anything from our candidates on how they can contribute to their growth. These senatoriables, therefore, should not only mind their own business (of winning), but ours as well. Imagine good welfare platforms (employment, livelihood, social programs, etc.) without the backing of thorough government policies for businesses. These two go hand-in-hand; an omission of one is a detriment to the other.
We pose two challenges to Monday’s Magic 12 – First would be to focus on the businesses pumping growth into the country, whether they are MSMEs or large enterprises, and second is to optimize ways on how they can shape the development of the nation.
In this election we are not only citizens exercising our right to elect the next leaders of our country. We are also citizens who are looking for leaders that will mind our business as well.
Wesly Paul Cortez is an incoming undergraduate senior of Business Administration and Accountancy from the Cesar EA Virata School of Business, UP Diliman. He is currently the Chairperson of the School of Business Student Council and former College Representative to the University Student Council.
