Biz groups raise eyebrows over non-working days for papal visit

The five-day visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines, which started Thursday, is much anticipated by the Filipino faithful that the government declared three special non-working days in Metro Manila.

 

Presidential spokesman Secretary Edwin Lacierda had earlier said the national government expects “thousands upon thousands” of Filipinos to attend the papal activities.

 

In line with the non-working days, most businesses, banks and financial markets in the National Capital Region suspended operations.

 

While the visit by what many acknowledge as the Holy Father is supposed to be a joyous and spiritually rewarding event, the extended holidays so close to the Christmas vacation may be costly for the economy, European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) president Michael Raeuber said.

 

“The Philippines has already among the most number of holidays in Asia, coupled with days off caused by typhoons, regional and municipal declared holidays, it may not be competitive anymore as an investment location,” he noted.

 

“[Foreign direct investments] are low in comparison to surrounding countries...” he added.

 

The Philippines registered $3.86 billion in FDIs in 2013, dwarfed by Southeast Asian peers like Malaysia with $12.31 billion, Thailand with $12.95 billion and Indonesia with $18.44 billion, according to the latest United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's (UNCTAD) "World Investment Report 2014."

 

Last October, FDI more than doubled to $444 million from $219 million a year earlier, bringing the ten-month total to $5.3 billion, up 64.1 percent from $3.2 billion in the previous year, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas announced.

Banking operations

 

The central bank early this week suspended banking operations in Metro Manila for the duration of the papal visit. Most banks opted to keep select branches open to serve their clients' banking needs.

 

The January 15 and 16 trading on the Philippine Stock Exchange were suspended.

 

Daily workers in Metro Manila also lose out during the holidays, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) chairman Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said.

 

“'Yung daily workers, lugi 'yan... Walang kita on those days kaya maghahabol sa production,” he noted.

 

The additional holidays may also worsen the situation in the ports of Manila, given the bank holidays and road closures, Ortiz-Luis added.

 

The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has closed off roads for the pontiff’s visit – mainly centered in Manila – but opened alternate routes during his five-day visit.

 

As the main seaports of Manila are close in proximity to where most of the papal activities will be held, getting cargoes through the ports is expected to be a bit a difficult, PCCI president Alfredo Yao said.

 

“In a way, there will be some standstill in traffic due to closed off roads. I agree with them, ma-i-istorbo na naman [ang operations ng importers, truckers]. They would need to double their efforts before and after papal visit... work overnight,” he said.

Port congestion

 

Ernesto Ordoñez, co-chair of the Private Sector Technical Working Group (PC-MWG) on port congestion, said the port situation would be affected by the five-day break in the NCR. 

 

Taking into consideration the plight of truckers and importers, Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras on Wednesday said the government will not implement a total truck ban.

 

But even if there will be five-day break in port operations, it is nothing compared with the impact of the daytime truck ban in the City of Manila implemented in early 2014, Security Bank Corp. economist Patrick Ella said.

 

“On port congestion, it will not compare to the port situation last year... There will be an impact, but it will not be the same magnitude as in 2014,” he noted. – VS, GMA News