By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter
THE fourth quarter will be challenging for businesses unless the government delivers a concrete resolution to the infrastructure corruption scandal, participants at the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) Annual General Membership Meeting said on Monday.
Former Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. President Cecilio K. Pedro said corruption makes it challenging for businesses to thrive even during the peak Christmas season.
“This year is going to be very challenging (in the) last quarter,” he said on the sidelines of the MAP meeting.
“We have to see some concrete resolutions, whether it’s putting people behind bars, or it’s the system being changed, or the budget going to the right places,” he added.
He said that unless the government sets things in motion, business sentiment will remain weak until next year.
“Kapag hindi naayos ito (if this is not fixed), next year will be more challenging. So, that is for us very crucial, especially for businessmen. We want to see things being changed. This is a good opportunity to change. Lumabas na e, dati nakatago e, ngayon lantad na (Things are out in the open and cannot be hidden),” he said.
“Anong gagawin natin? Anong gagawin nila? (What will we do? What will they do?) That will determine the future. It is up to them to do the right thing, and then we can move forward,” he added.
Mr. Pedro, who is also the founder of personal care and hygiene products manufacturer Lamoiyan Corp., said that the company is holding off on investment until it sees these issues addressed.
“Wala kaming major capex (We have no major capex plans) for next year. Everybody is wait and see,” he said.
“Kasi mag-iinvest ka tapos bukas magkagulo; ang negosyante (It’s hard to invest when things are this messy; businessmen) are very careful (and) playing safe to make sure that what we invested will be recovered,” he added.
The government is investigating alleged corruption in flood control projects after President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. called out the failure of flood control systems following the heavy rains in July. The fallout from the scandal has left legislators possibly exposed to prosecution.
Meanwhile, SM Investments Corp. Vice Chairperson Teresita T. Sy-Coson said that she remains optimistic despite an expected soft performance in the fourth quarter.
“Christmas will still be okay, because we are Filipinos and we celebrate Christmas … There is always some softening, but we will be okay,” she said.
“After Christmas, maybe the people will not buy so much, but that’s okay, we just have to continue,” she added.
She said the group will be continuing with its broader strategic plan. “Whatever the political noise is, we will just have to continue.”
MAP President Alfredo S. Panlilio said the Philippines should use of its Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chairmanship next year as an opportunity to restore the confidence in the Philippines.
“It is time to showcase the Philippines, to show them what we are trying to do to address the issues that we have in front of us,” he said.
“At the end of the day, I think we have to get back the credibility. A lot of it is reputational, so I think we need to recover, and I think ASEAN can be the platform for that,” he added.
However, he said that ASEAN chairmanship should not be the sole motivation of the government to resolve corruption.
“They have their own pressures as officials. They want to run the country the right way; there is transparency and accountability. And we have been hearing that,” he said.
“I think the intent is there. So I think what we are looking at now are the results and outcomes of these investigations,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) said that it hopes to see the passage of a bill that will give the commission more authority.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have enough powers that we want. Kaya nga ’yong bagong batas ’yon ang hinihintay na sana matapos na (we are waiting for the new measure to be passed),” ICI Commissioner Rogelio L. Singson said.
“Kapag nag-subpoena kami at hindi sumipot wala na kaming magagawa (If no one honors our subpoena, we can do nothing),” he added.
Several bills have been filed in Congress seeking to create the Independent People’s Commission, which will be reviewing all government infrastructure projects.
Such a law will firm up the legal bona fides of the ICI, which was created through an executive order.
“Ang pangako sa amin, before the end of December matapos lang itong budget (We were promised a law before December ends. Congress just need to get the budget out of the way),” he added.
According to Mr. Singson, at least seven of the 17 cases filed were already in the hands of the Philippine National Police or the National Bureau of Investigation as of Monday.