INSTEAD of offering discounts on products and services, the business sector is looking at investing on enterprise expansion to create more employment opportunities for sustainable economy amid the current low prices of petroleum products, a local business leader said.
Frank Carbon, regional governor of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) for Western Visayas and Negros Occidental, said low transportation cost due to cheaper pump prices provides businesses the opportunity to expand.
By expansion, the need to strengthen the middle or the working class, which is the backbone of the economy, is being addressed, he said.
“Instead of giving discounts, maybe it is better for businesses now to invest whatever additional income they have for the improvement of products or expansion so that more employment is generated,” Carbon said, adding that it needs thorough study but this is what the sector is looking at now.
The business leader noted that the existing employment threat among Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) in the Middle East due to low fuel revenues and the problems faced by seafarers, particularly on non-renewal of contracts by various shipping companies, are posing the need for more job opportunities in the country.
Thus, businesses in utilizing their additional earnings should not only concentrate on the consumption aspect, particularly providing discounts to the consuming public, but should also prioritize employment generation through enterprise expansion, Carbon said.
“When fuel prices start to increase again, the public can no longer enjoy these promos and discounts. But if more jobs are generated, the economic development becomes sustainable since workers are already in place, as well as the machine, equipment, and establishment on the part of business owners,” he added.
Moreover, while the business sector is taking initiative, the government as counterpart should also strengthen its efforts in capacitating producers and enterprises to improve and eventually expand like the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (Set Up) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), he said.
This year, DOST-Negros Occidental has allocated P24 million in assistance for 12 enterprises in the province mainly for facility upgrading and to help enterprises in production income generation by improving their packaging and product quality.
“The government should allocate more funds on programs like this for enterprises to expand,” Carbon said, stressing that the additional employment it may create can actually cater to OFWs who may lose jobs abroad.
What sustains the local economy now are the remittances of OFWs and the business processing outsourcing companies, but these industries are also facing problems and challenges thus, they should be augmented, he added.