The government is set to engage the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the largest confederation of business organizations in the country, on how the Philippine economy can recover quickly from the ravages of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Representing small, medium, and large enterprises, local chambers and industry associations from various sectors, around 600 participants from PCCI and other business organizations are expected to share their insights and suggestions during the e-conference on Monday (June 8).
Titled ‘Sulong Pilipinas: Partners for Progress,’ this online forum will be hosted by the Department of Finance (DOF) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
This will be the second Sulong online conference this year, following the first such virtual public consultation organized by the DOF and NEDA last month that was attended by over 400 youth participants from 100 schools and 35 student organizations nationwide.
Monday’s e-conference with local business leaders will serve as an opportunity for the business community to discuss and flesh out initiatives that the government and private sector could do to further support industries and enterprises most affected by the pandemic and spearhead an early economic recovery.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III is expected to discuss the current state of the Philippine economy and update the business community on the fiscal policies and other initiatives that the President’s economic team has carried out thus far and intends to implement in the months ahead to continue saving lives, protecting communities and restoring business and consumer confidence.
Meanwhile, Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua will present the Philippine Program for Recovery with Equity and Solidarity or PH-PROGRESO, which details the economic managers’ bounce-back plan for the domestic economy.
Sulong Pilipinas is the annual consultative conference between the Duterte administration and various citizen groups.
Since 2016, Sulong has been the platform for the government to consult stakeholders on socioeconomic priorities in support of President Duterte’s agenda for high growth and financial inclusion.
Top recommendations from past Sulong events that became actual government initiatives include the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP), the National Identification (ID) Law, the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) Act, the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law, and the ambitious ‘Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure program.
PCCI has been a leading supporter of key socioeconomic policies of the government, and has recently expressed strong support for the urgent passage of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE), one of the government’s relief and recovery measures primarily for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). CREATE promises to be the country’s largest stimulus plan for enterprises in the country’s history.
PCCI represents some 30,000 large and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the country.
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