ECOP urges more investments in agri, mfg sectors

MANILA, Philippines - The government needs to focus on attracting investments in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors if it wants to create more jobs in the country, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) said.

“The biggest and more permanent job generators are the agricultural and manufacturing sectors,” ECOP president Edgardo Lacson said in a text message.

To attract investments in these two sectors, he said the government needs to “review economic provisions of the Constitution and allow foreign capital in restricted economic sectors.”

The 1987 Constitution sets a 40 percent limit on foreign ownership in certain industries, a concern for foreign firms planning to invest in the country.

The Constitution likewise prohibits foreign nationals from owning lands here.

Apart from reviewing the economic provisions, Lacson said the government needs to ensure a stable policy environment, upgrade and develop infrastructure, continue its good and transparent governance, as well as reduce, if not totally abolish red tape.

The government, he said, has to work to make power cost competitive and ensure stable supply.

To encourage investors in the country’s agricultural sector, he said the government should improve post harvest facilities and farm-to-market roads.

Credit facilities also need to be extended to agricultural enterprises.

As for manufacturing, Lacson said re-engineering education to match skills and industry demand would help entice investments in the sector.

He added the government may have to revisit the wage fixing income mechanism to make it market-driven and productivity based.

The ECOP takes the lead in consolidating and articulating the employers’ interest in matters concerning labor-management relations and socio-economic development.

The latest Labor Force Survey from the National Statistics Office showed that the number of unemployed Filipinos went up slightly to 2.894 million in January from 2.892 million in the same month a year ago.

The same survey showed 37.940 million individuals were employed in January, up from the 37.334 million in the previous year.