Several unsolicited proposals have also been lodged to water authorities to develop new water sources to address the tightening supply of potable water in mega-Manila.
Industry and private sector have complained about slow government response to these issues. -- Abe P. Belena, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
2. NCC chief bats for revival, upgrading of one-stop investors assistance center
Former trade Secretary Cesar Bautista has called on the investment promotions arms of government to revive and upgrade the one-stop assistance center for investors, particularly those who are already in.
The call was issued as the Philippines continued to lag behind its Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in its share of foreign direct investments in comparison to its neighbors.
The news media, the other day quoted the local organization of foreign chambers as saying the Philippines got only 2.5 percent of foreign investmnets last year when other ASEAN member-nations including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam got shares between 12 and 16 percent.
Bautista who now sits as private sector chairman of the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) said that luring investors is like selling brand new cars.
“The best salesman is the latest buyer. Without post-sale services to the new car owner, he would most likely discourage prospective buyers. The same holds true with investors. Assistance after an investor has already put in his stakes is crucial to getting more investments,” he explained.
Bautista recalled that when he was trade chief until the end of the Ramos administration, the one-stop investors assistance center attached to his office was very active.
Foreign direct investments (FDIs) zoomed to unprecedented levels averaging $4 billion a year during the Ramos presidency, a record that is yet to be equalled by succeeding presidents.
The post-investment assistance office helped both foreign and domestic investors in dealing with different agencies of government like the Bureau of Internal Revenue for their tax problems, the Customs Bureau for thei imports and other government agencies that deal with new investors.
“Thailand is now well ahead of the Philippines in cornering foreign investments. It did better by setting up regional one-stop assistance centers for investors in different investment zones outside Bangkok,” Bautista pointed out.
Such a center under DTI was deactivated during the Estrada administration and is no longer functioning, Bautista revealed. -- Abe P. Belena, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
3. NCC completes initial study for master plan on Subic-Clark-Batangas logistics corridor
The pre-feasibility study leading to the drawing up of a master plan making the Subic-Clark-Batangas corridor into a logistics corridor that positions Luzon as an international transshipment point in Asia has been completed.
This was announced the other day by National Competitiveness Council (NCC) private sector chairman Cesar Bautista.
Ambassador Bautista said the initial study lays down the term of reference and scope of a more detailed study whose main output is a master plan for a seamless intermodal logistics corridor across the three fastest growing regions in Luzon.
The master plan will take another one and a half year to complete, Bautista said.
“The Subic-Clark-Batangas region, despite its considerable potential for being the principal logistics hub in the country, has experienced very limited growth due to inefficient logistics operations. As such, an integrated logistics program aimed specifically at increasing trade volumes, agricultural production as well as the diversification of economic activities is needed. This now comes in the form of a Subic-Clark-Batangas Intermodal Logistics Corridor Master Plan.” The study pointed out.
It noted that President Arroyo first raised the idea in 2007 when she declared that Luzon should be developed as a major transshipment and logistics hub in Asia. Since then, several big-ticket infrastructure projects interconnecting the corridor have been completed including the upgrading of the south and north expressways, opening of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and other projects.
“It is also important to address major transport policy issues critical to the development of the corridor,” the study stressed.
The corridor provides specialized industries and processing activities in Subic and Clark Special Economic Zones, textile, garments and consumer electronics factories in the CALABARZON, prime agricultural production south and north of Manila and port related industries in Batangas.
The corridor now accounts for 80 percent of the national cargo throughput in the country and about half of yearly economic output.
In pushing hard for the master plan, Ambassador Bautista said that it is not enough that one announces it is building a new superhighway from Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City to Tuguegarao, Cagayan or a bullet train from Manila to Laoag without taking into consideration if those projects will bring down costs of shipping goods.
The master plan was envisioned not only to address the high cost of shipping goods across Luzon but between the island and other ports in the country and in the Asian region.
The initial study suggested that building a logistics corridor will have to be pushed in stages, the first of which will be the building of a transport corridor. Second stage will be a multimodal corridor that integrates land, sea and air transportation plus storage and other support facilities then into a logistics and later, an economic corridor.
“The whole point is to develop the corridor as an alternative transshipment hub in Asia and to open up new economic activities towards the eastern seaboard of Luzon,” Bautista pointed out.
So far, he added, there have been so many plans and programs including unsolicited proposals on building roads and railway systems but these have not been integrated into a master plan designed to speed up economic growth in Luzon and the rest of the country. -- Abe P. Belena, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
4. Outbound, inbound business matchings slated this month
The Philippines will conduct this month two outbound business matchings (OBM) covering the motor vehicle parts sector in Taiwan and education service sector in Vietnam, and host one inbound business matching (IBM) from the Middle East covering the food sector.
In its updated 2010 work program, the Department of Trade and Industry’s Bureau of Export Trade Promotion (BETP) said the OBM in Taiwan is slated on April 10 to 16 while that in Vietnam on April 26 to May 1.
This, following the success of last year’s Philippine educational services promotion exhibit that resulted in the country’s signing of memorandum of understandings with seven institutions in Vietnam. Such event introduced English language programs being offered by Philippine schools to Vietnamese students in college, secondary schools and business people.
The BETP said senior buying, merchandising and sales promotion events manager of EMKE Group of Companies will be coming to the country this month to participate in the IBM session covering fresh and processed food sector in West Asia and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
Apart from the two OBMs to Taiwan and Vietnam, the bureau has slated 16 other OBM missions to economies like Japan, Malaysia, Korea, United States and territories, China and Special Administrative Regions, Eastern Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, India, LAMARCA (Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia), Indonesia and West Asia and GCC for 2010.
Sectors covered include food, Halal, natural and organic products, chemicals, information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services, furniture and furnishings, houseware, giftware and holiday decors and multi-sectoral.
On the other hand, participants to the IBM activities will come from Taiwan technology mission on processed food and marine products, China on coconut oil products, Korea on coconut biofuel and US (California, Seattle, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, US West Coast, Portland) on processed food and natural and organic products.
The BETP will also conduct overseas sales promotion in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, UAE at Lulu Hypermarket of EMKE Group, Japan retail chain stores and Qatar on food and consumer manufactures products, and Taiwan stores on food.
Market opportunity mappings (MOM) have been also scheduled in China provinces and India for specific promotional activities to optimize sectoral opportunities, Brazil with multi-sector products for houseware and giftware, Russia and Spain in IT and IT-enabled services, and Johannesburg, South Africa in food, furniture, personal care and IT and IT-enabled creative services.
Moreover, the bureau will hold this year information sessions on fair trade, European Union’s food safety regulation, new food safety law of the US, fine jewelry forum, optimizing business opportunities with the Asian Development Bank and free trade agreements (FTAs), particularly the ASEAN-Australia News Zealand FTA, the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods and ASEAN-Common Effective Preferential Treatment (CEPT) FTA and the China-ASEAN FTA.
Information sessions have been lined up for exporters to provide them knowledge on business opportunities offered by Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Africa, Macau and Hong Kong, Romania, Bulgaria, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, India, LAMARCA, US, Guam, Indonesia, South Korea and Syria, Jordan and Oman.
Likewise, the BETP developed an Integrated Program for Micro and Small Enterprises (IPMS) pavillion on food products and Halal pavillion at International Food Exhibition (IFEX) Manila this May 6 to 8, and capacity-building program for natural and organic products SME exporters from July to December. -- Danielle Venz, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
5. Regionalization of Mindanao seen to boost RP’s exports
Mindanao pork producers are proposing for the positioning of Mindanao as a separate bio-security region in order for businesses to penetrate more markets abroad.
“Our goal with the immediate implementation of Mindanao’s regionalization will open new doors of strategic and tangible export markets that will possibly channel through Mindanao,” said Emilio Escobillo Jr., chairman of South Cotabato Swine Producers Association, Inc. (SOCOSPA).
In a letter to Universal Access to Competitiveness and Trade (UACT) chief executive officer Donald Dee, Escobillo said the island is a potential and growing export and industrial hub in the country, citing its export-able ports and strategic position to key markets in the East Asean region.
He expressed optimism that the regionalization will benefit Mindanao’s key industries and sectors particularly agribusiness, along with the positive feedback of Singapore in resuming its pork trade with the country.
In line with this, the SOCOSPA underscored the need to establish a regionalized reportorial system in the island. This, as the present reportorial status of Mindanao is directly positioned at the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA)’s Central Office.
It suggested that the Department of Agriculture-Mindanao will be the regional office to handle affairs which are crucial in securing the island’s animal health status.
“Mindanao’s biosecurity measures have long been under careful and strict implementation. OIE has declared Mindanao with healthy animal status since 2002 backed by DA’s Administrative and Memorandum Orders. Strict protocols are always being observed,” the group noted in a position paper.
The proposed Mindanao Pork Producers Council will be supportive in innovative and effective ways in establishing regional cooperation and forging new relationships with regional organizations, it said.
The swine producers also pointed out that regionalization already took effect in other countries like US, Canada, China and India wherein other states or regions were strategically protected under safety protocols as not to hinder potential market and industry setbacks.
“In view with this, the Philippines can do the same by strategically positioning Mindanao as a separate biosecurity region and reorganizing its reportorial entity to the international community and the Philippines as its host country,” they said. -- Danielle Venz, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
6. RP asked to develop social protection package for unemployed
The country is asked to consider steps towards extending universal social protection to help unemployed persons cope with the impact of the global crisis.
This recommendation was made by Amelita King Dejardin, a senior technical adviser in the Policy Integration and Statistics Department of the International Labour Office, in a paper titled “The Philippine labour market in the aftermath of another crisis.”
Citing a survey result indicating high incidence of hunger among the unemployed amid the crisis, Dejardin said, a universal social protection is crucial in reducing workers’ income insecurity and vulnerability.
“Part of their vulnerability to job loss can be blamed on the absence of an institutionalized system of social protection for the unemployed, and on low, declining real earnings which prohibit savings,” she said.
Dejardin thus raised the need for the country to create “productive, remunerative and fairly stable employment” which is important to sustainable poverty reduction.
She noted that the social assistance programs, such as conditional cash transfers and the PhilHealth indigent program, which are geared for the poorest, the indigent and most vulnerable, while important, are not sufficient to meet their needs.
Such social safety nets are unable to meet the casualties of economic shocks and also leave out many who are just below or just above the poverty line, Dejardin reasoned.
“The millions who are missed by social assistance programmes for the poor and by formal social insurance will have to continue diversifying and intensifying further the use of their labour (women, youth and children), and relying on help from extended family networks, local patrons and local leaders,” she said.
Dejardin said while already many countries in Asia rely on severance payment systems based on labor law as a means for providing workers with basic social security in the event of unemployment, but this is ineffective in times of economic crisis owing to mass bankruptcies.
Thailand and Vietnam have recently established an unemployment insurance system. Likewise, India’s national employment guarantee scheme fairly addresses well the problem of spatial poverty and social exclusion.
“It maybe the time for the Philippines to take a broader and longer-term perspective of its current schemes, and choose the building blocks and instruments that would comprise an effective social protection package,” she said. -- Danielle Venz, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
7. NCC survey shows government agencies slow to get wired
To the dismay of exporters who are anticipating for an immediate installment of a faster, paperless, and corruption-proof system of conducting business as directed by Administrative Order No. 158, only 19 of the 40 government units involved in the issuance of import and export clearances and documents have fully computerized their operations.
Despite the issuance of Administrative Order No. 158 prescribing the fast-tracking of the computerization of all government agencies involved in the export processes so as to reduce the cost to exporters, eleven do not seem to have any plan to go into computerization.
Five agencies are in the process of developing their system while three are still at the planning stage.
This is what came out of the latest survey conducted by the Information Systems Strategic Plan (ISSP) of the National Computer Center (NCC).
Executive Order No. 265 s.2000 mandates the NCC to monitor the implementation of ISSP of national government agencies and to submit a report to the President and Congress on the performance of all government agencies.
The 19 government offices that have computerized their operations include the Board of Investments (BOI), the Bureau of Export Trade Promotion (BETP), the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD), the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).
The BOI has automated its issuance of cement export clearance certificate and copper export clearance certificate.
While the BETP has fully operationalized its key computerization projects, its International Trade Resource Center Library Automation System is still being developed and its Issue Tracking System is at its planning stage.
Key computerization projects that are being fully implemented by BETP are the Automated Export Documentation System (AEDS), Internal Business Matching System and Travel Tax Exemption.
The BPI has also fully operationalized its Export Certificate Issuance and Reporting System as well as its Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards Information System but the Department of Agriculture (DA) is still developing its Electronic Sanitary and Phytosanitary Certification System Project (ESPCS).
The DA's Electronic Sanitary and Phytosanitary Certification System for imports is being pilot tested while the one for export will follow suit.
Two government bureaus of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Forest Management Bureau (FMB) and the Environment Management Bureau (EMB) have not yet made any concrete plans of automating its procedures.
Same can be said of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and the National Food Authority (NFA). -- Ritchelle Alburo, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
