89% of Pinoys agree gov't should support manufacturing sector —Pulse Asia survey

Eighty-nine percent of Filipinos agreed that the government should support the manufacturing sector to accelerate the country’s economy, according to the results of a privately commissioned Pulse Asia survey released Tuesday.

Commissioned by the Stratbase ADR Institute, the March 2023 survey showed that only 1% disagreed, 2% said they do not have enough knowledge on the matter, and 8% cannot say if they agree or disagree.

Lower classes D and E agreed more with 90% and 89%, respectively, compared to higher class ABC with only 84%.

Around 62% of Filipinos agreed that manufacturing activities contribute to economic growth mostly through the creation of livelihood opportunities for local service businesses.

The same percentage agreed that the manufacturing sector also contributes to the economy by making goods more affordable and accessible to consumers.

Meanwhile, 61% of Filipinos agreed that the government should provide training to workers to upgrade their schools in order to boost the manufacturing and other industries.

The survey also showed that 50% of Filipinos believed that more incentives that are competitive to other countries should be provided by the government to improve the growth of industries.

The survey results were presented by Pulse Asia president Ronald Holmes during the webinar organized by the Stratbase ADR Institute.

The survey was conducted from March 15 to 19, 2023 with 1,200 respondents who were randomly selected adult Filipinos.

At the webinar, economic expert Andrew Masigan said one of the reasons why the Philippines is constantly short of funds is because of severe import dependence and/or the lack of export revenues.

He said operating with huge trade deficits in consecutive years increases public debts and causes erosion of cash reserves.

“It is unsustainable... The need to mitigate the trade deficit, through increased export of merchandise and services, cannot be overstated,” Masigan said.

“Government must pursue a manufacturing resurgence with vigor and commitment. Only then can the economy improve its export performance and achieve some degree of import substitution,” he added.

For Masigan, regulatory, judicial, and governance reforms can encourage investments in the manufacturing sector.

“Although many aspects of the regulatory regime improved, current efforts are no longer enough. The breadth of reforms must be widened and its pace accelerated,” he said.

Department Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba said Industrial, Manufacturing, and Transport is one of the clusters of priority sectors for growth and development.

“We can make use of these new technologies in order for us to leapfrog and be able to undergo a structural transformation,” she said during the webinar.

“By that, I mean an increase in the share of the manufacturing industry. What we want to see is really for us to be able to reach maybe something like a 30% share of GDP because currently we are still at 20% to 21%,” she added. —KBK, GMA Integrated News