Businessmen ask Congress to prioritize Phl Dev't Plan

MANILA, Philippines - Influential business groups urged members of Congress yesterday to prioritize bills on the Philippine Development Plan instead of working on a four-day work week proposal.

At the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) and Philippine Business Groups (PBG) press conference yesterday morning, Makati Business Club (MBC) executive director Peter Perfecto said that Congress already knows from the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) what to prioritize. “We hope they focus on that.”

 “We hope they prioritize the Philippine Development Plan proposal because there are many things that should be prioritized,” Perfecto said.

Quezon City second district Rep. Winston Castelo has introduced a bill for a four-day work week. The bill increases the working hours per day to 10 from eight. He said this will help employees save on transportation costs.

Perfecto said they see a more liberal environment but this new piece of legislation must be studied carefully to gauge its efficiency and impact on the competitiveness of the Philippines as a possible investment destination.

Perfecto said he is not aware of any country in the top of the National Competitiveness Survey that is implementing a four-day workweek.

At the same conference, the business groups highlighted the bills that they would like to see passed into law. Perfecto said MBC has four priority bills. The first is the rationalization of fiscal incentives. This bill has been approved on third reading in the House while it is undergoing deliberations in the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Perfecto likewise said the Congress needs to pass the AMLA Amendment and the WIPO Copyright Treaty or the Intellectual Property Act Amendments as part o the country’s commitments.

JFC on the other hand would like the congress to prioritize the fiscal rationalization and the Anti Trust Bill.