by Lovely Carillo
ECONOMISTS in Davao City in particular and the country in general can check out their business processes and see if these are causing the same bottlenecks identified by National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) secretary Dr. Cayetano W. Paderanga, Jr. when he was in the city last week.
Paderanga, who met with Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, said if the Aquino government can make changes in its first 100 days, “We can expect a five to six percent economic growth rate next year.” Aquino was inaugurated as the 15th President of the Philippines last June 30.
This positive outlook was earlier echoed by the International Monetary Fund with a more conservative four percent economic growth foresight for the Philippines next year.
Paderanga said Philippine economists were puzzled why some countries with more resources are not investing much in the country.
The Neda chief said there are at least seven issues that the government intends to address to increase investments in the country. Among these are low investments in human capital, low consumer and business confidence, low capital investments, weak exports, high unemployment rate, impact of climate change and poor access to credit in the countryside.
“There is low consumer and business confidence in the country, and this has restrained the country’s economic growth,” he said. The Aquino administration, he said, will address what is perceived to be low investment in human capital by investing in the Filipinos’ health and education.
“We have to create employment opportunities to address the poverty problem so that no one is left behind, according to the President in his inaugural speech,” Paderanga said.
Another strategy of the Aquino administration, he said, is to provide fiscal stability and to encourage a culture of good governance.
“This administration aims to ensure infrastructure support for business activities as well as reduce the cost of doing business to get more investments in,” he said.
Paderanga said the economy fared well during the first quarter of 2010 compared to its Asian neighbors like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Still, there are issues that must be addressed so the country can sustain a higher growth rate in the years ahead.
Davao enjoys balanced economy
The foreseen economic growth of the country is expected to become possible with the good economic performance of the various regions in the country. On top of this is the Davao region, touted to have the “most balanced economy” in the entire Philippines as claimed by National Statistical Coordination Board regional head Estrella Turingan.
Turingan said government is confident about achieving the 6.5 percent target growth for 2010 considering the increasing opportunities in the Davao region’s information communication technology, particularly business process outsourcing. The BP sector is expected to grow even more this year based on the 14 percent growth in the number of call center seats from 4,500 seats in 2008 to 5,133 in 2009.
The region is banking on P2.7 billion worth of investment commitments in e-learning and e-photo editing, activated carbon manufacturing, assembly of high-tech equipment and cold storage, among others.
Meanwhile, Paderanga, Jr. urged leaders and members of industries to communicate their needs actively and consistently with government.
“We do not make decisions in a vacuum. The government is very willing to listen to voices from various industries that can influence our national plans in a manner that benefits everybody,” said Paderanga, during the recent quarterly forum of the Philippine Iron and Steel Institute.
“Industries will have to join the conversation. Tell us what you need and where you want us to go and at the same time understand the environment where decisions are made,” he said.
Paderanga also underscored that public-private sector dialogues should be continuous for needed reforms to take root in government policies.
“The discussion with government is not a one-day thing but a continuing process. Industries will really have to take time in telling government what they need from it,” the NEDA chief asserted.
Through constant multi-stakeholder dialogues, Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) can be facilitated.
“We hope through the PPPs, the government can magnify resources that in a way increase demand for products like iron and steel,” Paderanga explained.
PPP is a strategy to finance government projects like infrastructure and basic services through the assistance of the private sector.
The industry sector, where iron and steel belong, was highlighted as the major driver of economic growth in the first half of 2010. The sector spurred a 15.7 percent growth for the first quarter after a three-year period of contraction. Manufacturing also gained its highest year-on-year growth at 20.7 percent since 1988.
