A BUSINESS leader urged private and public groups to focus their efforts and advocacies on energy self-sufficiency, agriculture and food security, infrastructure development and education to help improve the economy.
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) president Edgardo Lacson raised the need to advocate for a “real reduction” in the cost of power and to push for more incentives for renewable energy to supplement the country’s present sources of energy.
He recalled that the country used to have very low cost of power in the 1960s.
In the 17th Visayas Area Business Conference last Friday, Lacson also called for food production to help address food security, and for an academe and private sector partnership to address industry-labor mismatch and unemployment.
As he urged the business sector to strengthen its linkages with the government and other organizations while pursuing “actively and relentlessly” its activities, Lacson said he is optimistic that the economy will improve in the coming months as oil prices continue their downward trend.
Sen. Richard Gordon, on the other hand, urged business and industry to be “focused, fast, friendly, flexible and forward-looking.”
“Don’t complain about China. Just look for opportunities. How about tourism? Many things are happening in tourism.
International airports are existing; another one is on its way in Bohol. On the other hand, Cebu has the duty to be a model
for the other provinces and to make the country number one,” he said.
Continued growth
Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, for his part, expressed confidence that the country’s tourism will continue to grow, despite challenges that include increasing airfares.
Citing the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) quarterly reports, he said satisfaction rating of tourists who have visited the country is 87 percent, which is “quite high.” He said DOT data also show that 60 percent of tourists who visited the country for the first time later came back.
He also noted that there is a boom in lifestyle and real estate development as manifested in the construction of condominium units near beaches, mountains and urban areas, among others.
“We saw this as an opportunity to extend to a new market segment (that is) willing to invest in vacation homes,” he said in a speech.
Durano announced that next month, his department will roll out a global campaign called “Live Your Dreams,” through exhibitions in Korea, Shanghai, China and Pasay City, with the aim of encouraging foreign and local tourists “to invest in vacation homes in a tropical paradise.” (NRC)
