Exporters have thrown their support behind the Duterte administration’s economic program on developing the countryside, as this will help exporting small and medium enterprises grow their business and become competitive.
Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said a strong focus on micro, small and medium enterprises; ease of doing business; human capital; infrastructure development; and increased agricultural and rural enterprise productivity and rural tourism were good drivers of economic growth.
Ortiz-Luis Jr. said achieving an 8-percent gross domestic product growth was even possible under the Duterte administration.
He said the increased budget for programs encouraging innovation would be important in boosting growth of the export sector.
Incoming President Rodrigo Duterte’s proposed 10-point socioeconomic agenda include promoting science, technology and the creative arts to enhance innovation and creative capacity towards self-sustaining and inclusive development.
Stakeholders are working to enhance the innovative capacity of the export sector through an efficient system of national innovation as a part of the development strategies of Philippine Export Development Plan 2015 to 2017.
PEDP strategies include raising the productivity and competitiveness of Philippine enterprises and removing burdensome domestic regulations that impede the movement of goods.
The plan is a roadmap that also sets exports growth targets of 8.8 percent in 2016 and 10.6 percent in 2017.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry also submitted actionable recommendations to the next administration.
It pushed for the adoption of a comprehensive tax reform package, including the simplification of the tax system, particularly MSMEs. This will reduce the cost of compliance, promote voluntary compliance and increase collection.
PCCI said automation and streamlining of business permitting and licensing systems and reducing bottlenecks in land titling could ease and improve the cost of doing business and eliminate windows of corruption.