Arangkada Forum to Push Faster Reforms for PH Competitiveness
The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) has announced that the 2026 Arangkada Philippines Forum will take place this October at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Pasay City. The event underscores the critical need to accelerate economic reforms to strengthen the Philippines’ investment climate and long-term competitiveness.
With the theme “FAST: Forging Ahead a Sustainable Tomorrow,” the Forum will focus on advancing reforms across four pillars: building a future-ready economy, accelerating infrastructure and investment climate reforms, promoting sustainable and green growth, and strengthening trade, technology, and tourism competitiveness.
Representing over 3,000 member companies, the JFC is composed of the American, Canadian, European, Japanese, and Korean chambers, together with PAMURI. Combined, these organizations account for more than USD 100 billion in bilateral trade and around USD 30 billion in investments in the Philippines.
American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Executive Director Ebb Hinchliffe emphasized the continuity of the Arangkada reform agenda.
“When we launched the first Arangkada Forum in 2010, we identified seven key sectors and put forward hundreds of recommendations to encourage government action,” Hinchliffe said.
“Sixteen years later, we continue to refine and expand our recommendations, focusing on sectors that can drive investment, create opportunities, and strengthen the Philippine economy. These reforms require strong government and private sector collaboration, and this forum remains a key platform for that dialogue.”
Arangkada Philippines Project Director Atty. Marvin Diño noted that the 2026 Forum is designed to be more solution-driven and focused on execution.
“This year’s theme, FAST—Forging Ahead a Sustainable Tomorrow—recognizes that the Philippines is at a critical turning point, and the challenge is whether reforms are being implemented quickly enough to sustain growth and competitiveness,” Diño said.
To build long-term economic foundations, Diño explained that the FAST framework centers on accelerating digital transformation and governance, ensuring cybersecurity, and preparing the workforce for AI. He also highlighted the urgency of faster infrastructure rollout, improved logistics, energy security, and stronger ease-of-doing-business reforms to position the Philippines competitively within emerging global value chains.
“For 2026, we have redesigned the forum to move beyond discussion and toward execution, with each panel bringing together government and private sector leaders to identify actionable policy recommendations,” he added.
“Ultimately, the forum is a platform to translate recommendations into policy action through meaningful dialogue between government and the private sector,” Diño said.
Since 2012, the Arangkada Philippines Forum has served as a premier public-private platform. It annually convenes around 700 delegates—including C-level executives, senior government officials, and industry leaders—to discuss competitiveness, investment, and structural reforms.
The initiative continues to advance its advocacy through the Arangkada Seven Big Winner Sectors: agribusiness, infrastructure, manufacturing, logistics, IT-BPM, tourism, and mining and minerals, which serve as key drivers of inclusive growth.