No inclusive growth under PNoy admin, says foreign biz group

Government reforms continued to improve under the Aquino administration, but inclusive growth remains elusive, the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines said Tuesday.

"There hasn't been inclusive growth..." Julian Payne, Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines president, told reporters in a briefing on the group's Arangkada Assessment in Pasay City.

"Basically, there has been a failure of real growth in the agriculture and mining sectors which have the greatest potential for employment and development in the remote rural areas," Payne said.

The Joint Foreign Chambers noted other sectors must be strengthened and reinforced, particularly agribusiness, mining, education, and poverty alleviation.

The public sector must continue to improve its policies to create more employment opportunities, it said in a separate statement released to reporters.

“Attaining inclusive growth is a continuing process that could not be completed within a single-term presidency," Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma said in a separate email to GMA News Online.

"The Aquino administration exercised tremendous political will in adopting a paradigm shift from trickle-down growth to direct cash transfers and provision of stronger social safety nets for the poorest families," Coloma noted.

Issues for next admin

"The public sector is the enabler of job growth, while the private sector is the engine. The two must work in parallel for inclusive growth and job creation," it said.

These issues, the JFC said, must be recognized by the incoming administration after the May 9 elections.

"For the Philippines to make growth more inclusive, the incoming administration and future leaders should undertake reforms that sustain and increase GDP growth. This will require continued good governance, political will to undertake more structural reforms, better infrastructure, a fair regulatory regime, and lower business costs, among others," the statement read.

"To widen inclusive growth, you have to address rural unemployment," Payne said, noting that developments in agriculture, mining, and tourism would be able to generate more jobs.

Around 344 or 74.5 percent of the 462 recommendations the Joint Foreign Chambers has forwarded to the government are now active and moving, according to the group's latest Arangkada Assessment.

The recommendations included growing the economy, industries, employment, and investment.

Reforms  progress

In the first Arangkada Assessment in 2011, the Joint Foreign Chambers noted a 51.44 percent adaption of their recommendations.

"The active or moving total in 2015 was very close to the total of 74.22 percent in 2014, indicating continuing progress of reforms underway," the group said.

"The fiscal policy of the country is very good. K to 12 is the major change. There's a little bit of turnaround in tourism and mining," Payne noted.

Progress in policy and economic reforms were noted particularly in tourism, infrastructure, manufacturing and business process outsourcing.

Steps had been taken when it came to legislation, environment, business resiliency, governance, labor, macroeconomic policy, and health, according to the group, noting such progress help to enable a more competitive business environment.

"We thank the foreign chambers for acknowledging that making growth more inclusive is a work in progress that includes the following elements: continued good governance, more structural reforms, a fair regulatory regime, and lower business costs," Coloma noted

Those elements are still being pursued resolutely by President Aquino and his Cabinet, the Palace official added. – With a report by Kathrina Charmaine Alvarez/VDS, GMA News