MANILA: The Marcos administration is preparing for a major push in January to restore investor confidence through a coordinated effort in which economic agencies will present their detailed plans and programmes to the private sector, the Inquirer has learned.
According to an informed source, the government plans to revive the “economic cluster” where key agencies focused on the economy come together to better coordinate the execution of major reforms or programmes.
Such a mechanism had been more active under previous administrations and may be revived in an attempt to inject added life into the sluggish economy.
Key economic secretaries are set to hold a “big presentation” to the private sector in January, where they will outline programs aimed at improving the ease of doing business, reducing business costs and restoring predictability in business processes.
The exact date is yet to be finalized. The event is expected to target around 300 business leaders, bankers and stakeholders from sectors including energy, food and mining.
Expected to participate are the Department of Finance, Department of Economy, Planning and Development, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The source added that agencies that have faced numerous complaints from businesses are expected to make commitments to improve the ease and predictability of doing business.
The presentation, according to the source, is an opportunity to “restore investor confidence and boost optimism in the economy.”
This comes amid a period of slower economic growth in the country, triggered by the fallout from the widening probe into anomalous multibillion-peso flood control projects.
In the third quarter, the gross domestic product grew just 4 per cent, marking a four-year low.
Financial markets have also felt the impact of the crisis, with the peso hitting record lows and Philippine stocks emerging as one of the weakest performers globally this year.
In October, Ramon Monzon, president and CEO of the Philippine Stock Exchange, said that about P185 billion in market value was lost in the weeks leading up to the controversy.
Meanwhile, Michael Enriquez, president of Sun Life Investment Management and Trust Corp., warned in an earlier interview that investments could remain “flat” over the next three quarters, as hot-money inflows have taken a back seat amid the economic instability.
Even so, the Marcos administration’s economic team had already been bullish on a modest recovery in the fourth quarter as they move to implement catch-up spending plans and push for good governance reforms. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
