‘18th Congress must focus on economic reforms above all’

Jovee Marie de la Cruz | BusinessMirror | June 3, 2019

Last updated on June 3rd, 2019 at 02:12 am

The 18th Congress must prioritize the passage of economic reform bills to encourage more foreign direct investments and guarantee the country’s economic takeoff.

Leyte Rep.-elect Martin Romualdez made the statement shortly after arriving home from the Japan trip with President Duterte.

Romualdez said the 18th Congress’s urgent task is to pass important legislative measures that reform the country’s relatively restrictive and less competitive economic policies.

The congressman tagged one of the frontrunners in the speakership race cited in particular the amendments to the Foreign Investments Act, the Public Service Act and the Retail Trade Liberalization Act—all meant to encourage investments in industry and services, and boost private construction.

“We, the incoming members of the 18th Congress, are faced with the important task of pursuing vital economic legislation needed to sustain higher productivity growth. Global industrial giants see a great potential in us, but we just have to work hard to gain their trust and confidence,” said Romualdez.

“The President has issued the marching orders, and we need to follow if we all want to become a prosperous middle-class country free from poverty by 2040. The way I see it, we need to focus more on institutionalizing reforms that will encourage the influx of more investments, the creation of more jobs, improvement in human capital investment and the building of better infrastructure,” Romualdez added.

Citing Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, he said a total of 26 business deals—with a total estimated investment value of $5.5 billion or P288 billion and seen to generate 82,737 jobs —were signed between the Philippines and Japan just before President Duterte addressed the Japanese businessmen at 25th Nikkei Conference on the Future of Asia in Tokyo. The deals cover infrastructure, manufacturing, electronics, medical devices, business-process outsourcing, power, electricity, transport, automotive, food manufacturing and marine manpower industries.

“We also need new pieces of scientific legislation alongside improvements in communication, technology, entry of foreign investors, total
expenditure on research and development, easing of start-up procedures, implementation of public sector contracts, knowledge transfer, total public expenditure on education, and development and application of technology,”
Romualdez said.

Anti-red tape

Aside from enacting economic measures, Romualdez said the 18th Congress must exercise its oversight function to ensure the swift implementation of the Ease of Doing Business Act, the implementing rules and regulations of which have yet to be issued one year after its passage.

This law, which includes the organization of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (Arta), is seen to simplify procedures and establish timelines in securing permits and other transactions with the government, he said.

Republic Act 11032, also known as the EODB Law, was signed by Duterte last year to reduce processing time of transactions, simplify steps for securing documentation requirements, boost interconnectivity infrastructure and create the Arta.

Source: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/06/03/18th-congress-must-focus-on-economic-reforms-above-all/