The vice president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday said corruption contributed to the country’s bloating inflation rate.
“There is about one or one and a half percent of the 6.1 percent inflation [in September] that is due to corruption,” PCCI vice president Perry Ferrer said during a pre-event briefing for the upcoming 49th Philippine Business Conference and Expo (PBC&E) to be held on October 25 to 26.
“The goods that we import – rice, sugar, vegetables – these are commodities that once imported or arrived in the country, they inflate the price. That’s why smugglers take advantage of it. That’s why it pushes up inflation. If you take a look at all the goods that are unusually high, these are all due to corruption,” he added.
Ferrer said holiday spending, particularly from OFW remittances, will help ease inflation.
Remittances are expected to hit $13 billion in the 4th quarter, he added.
PBCE conference chairman Felino Palafox Jr. said the conference theme “Vision 2050: The Philippines, a world-class economy” wass not just a vision but “is actually achievable.”
Despite global headwinds, Palafox said the vision remained valid since the government is actively putting in place measures that will support organic growth, increasing resiliency of businesses and agriculture.
He added that the country’s education system should be strengthened along with other critical sectors such as agriculture.
“Upgrading our educational system is really crucial to achieving the PH2050 vision. We should invest in the future of our young population so they can contribute to the economic prosperity of our country,” he said.
“But of course, we need to address first the very challenges that have been hampering our growth – for instance, corruption and red tape in government,” Palafox added.
PCCI President George Barcelon said while several challenges should still be addressed by the government, “there is also a general sense of optimism on the current administration’s commitment to improve the business environment – both in terms of processes and procedures, and in terms of providing the infrastructure that could significantly ease and lower the cost of doing business in the country.”
Barcelon said these include addressing bottlenecks in business registration and processing, streamlining investment application process, and integrating the services of various government offices.
Barcelon said the PCCI is closely working with the government to upskill and reskill the labor force, improve local government units’ investment-readiness, and provide policy recommendations to further spur economic growth.
He said the business community is still optimistic about the country’s growth prospects despite the slower-than-expected economic growth performance in the first half of the year.
“We’d like to be positive that in the next two months or so, the sloppiness of the economy in the last quarter can be negated,” he said.