The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) called on continued efforts from government to establish greater ease in doing business, saying it is needed to complement the progress cited by the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. over the past year.
MAP president Benedicta Du-Baladad said ease of doing business was the top concern among members, based on a survey in November 2022. “If you investigate deeper, they are concerned about ease of doing business at the local (government) level,” she added.
She said MAP is drawing up a memorandum of understanding with the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) and the Department of Interior and Local Government to make sure that such concerns are addressed. “We see that ARTA has ongoing efforts that involve digitalization, which has a positive impact on ease of doing business,” she said.
Teresita Sy-Coson, vice-chair of SM Investments Corp., said there could be more projects in progress if the national and local governments could collaborate more with the private sector. “If we can make the regulations of the government simple and easier for anybody who is interested to invest in the Philippines, that could be a big plus,” she said.
“The Philippines is always a country with a lot of potential except we usually have difficulty communicating what our requirements are, and even for us (local investors), sometimes we don’t know the requirements,” she added.
Any country that offers greater ease of doing business will always get more investments and generate more business, from both local and foreign sources. The Philippines may have made inroads on that end in recent years, but in a highly competitive environment, the rest of the world also continues to improve, with those that make it a priority developing at a faster rate. Our government must continue improving and innovating, while working with the private sector to get the necessary feedback, if we are to keep up.
If we mean to lead the world, then our government officials responsible for elevating the ease of doing business to a world class level will have to rise to the challenge that can be daunting, especially for a country like ours that has been mired in red tape for decades.*
