Presidential candidates yesterday presented to the business community their economic agenda as well as their priorities in the first 100 days in office once elected.
In alphabetical order, Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso; Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Sen. Manny Pacquiao and Vice President Leni Robredo laid down at the Presidentiables Forum of the Philippine Business Conference (PBC) their platforms that shared a common goal: to address the health crisis and to take immediate steps to recover from the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos was absent at the forum.
Other common objectives centered on assisting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), keeping and protecting jobs, reducing taxes, improving infrastructure including digitalization, attracting investments, and clamping down on corruption.
Domagoso vowed to spend the first two years of his administration towards reinforcing the health system.
He said his administration will push for the reduction of taxes on petroleum and electricity and the grant of zero interest loans to MSMEs.
Domagoso’s own version of Build Build Build will center on socialized housing.
But as a believer of continuity, Domagoso will adopt good policies and programs of the current administration.
Domagoso said he will guarantee certainty and predictability in doing business with government and providing equal opportunity and level playing field for business, one of the themes of Robredo’s speech at the opening of the PBC on Wednesday.
Pacquiao for his part has bold suggestions: reduce corporate taxes to 15 percent (from the current 25 percent) to be competitive with Asean and strengthen other revenue streams so as not to depend on borrowings to fund the country’s budget.
Pacquiao will push for the construction of more skyways in Metro Manila, as well as a bullet train from North to South to include Visayas and Mindanao in economic development.
Like Domagoso, Pacquiao does not believe in importation to feed the country.
Go said he will continue the good programs of the Duterte administration: from Build Build Build to the CARES (COVID-19 Assistance to Restart Enterprises) to Malasakit Centers, the creation of which was in a bill he authored.
Go will prioritize the signing into law of the establishment of the Department of Disaster Resilience and the Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Philippines which the administration has espoused.
Go will give financial assistance and jobs to 10 million poorest of the poor and make zero percent interest loans accessible to them.
Like Pacquiao, Go proposes an inter-island megabridge program to help ease travel.
Lacson was even more bold, saying he would lay the foundation for a clean government to earn the trust of the people.
“I will lead the way by signing a waiver of my rights in the Bank Secrecy Law on the first day of presidency and encourage all the members of the Cabinet to the same,” Lacson said.
Taking a swipe at the current administration, Lacson said his government will prioritize local contractors and manufacturers in procurement “instead of favored Chinese traders.”
Lacson said he will clean up the Department of Agriculture from top to bottom to rid of controversies that hamper the agriculture sector.
Robreo bared plans to allot, under her administration, P216 billion for ayuda to protect families from hunger and provide for their needs and another P100 billion for a stimulus package for critically-impacted MSMEs anchored on preserving jobs.
Robredo also said she will double education spending from 3 to 5 percent of GDP.
Robredo’s fight versus corruption will be on infrastructure.
”To ensure integrity (in the allocation of infrastructure contracts), the procurement process will be monitored so the points where corruption enters can be plugged,” Robredo said.
Under her leadership, infrastructure spending will be improved where the focus “should not be about building more, but about building better.” – Irma Isip
