ECOP confident jobs target will be met

Employers expressed confidence that the President will meet her target of creating at least one million jobs a year.

Rene Y. Soriano, president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), said the business expansions and fresh investments that will be attracted by the clear mandate given to President Arroyo will help attain the target.

Expansions and new investments will rev up business activities and mop up the annual entrants to the work force of one million Filipinos annually, he said.

Soriano also expressed confidence that the government will improve the peace-and-order situation, another ingredient important to attracting investments.

ECOP is the single voice of the private sector on social and economic policies. The chamber represents employers in consultations with government and workers’ groups.

"The new administration is greeted with a huge dose of optimism by the private sector," the ECOP head said. "Her victory means stability in the rules of doing business in the Philippines."

Soriano recalled that many investors adopted a wait-and-see attitude and put their investment plans on hold until after they were assured that the next administration was one committed to a continuation of economic policies and policy reforms.

"The predictability of rules is one big element in the competitiveness of companies in the international marketplace," he said.

The private sector, he said, will also be doing its share in contributing to job creation.

Soriano hoped that the government and the business community will be in close partnership in upgrading and matching the skills of Filipino workers with the requirements of industries.

ECOP will be holding the Employers’ Summit on Employment and Industrial Relations on Aug. 23 and 24, to define what industry can do on its own to protect jobs and create employment.

He lauded the President’s pledge to decongest Metro Manila and to disperse business activities to the regions.

He also hoped that government will fortify its population management program.