Landslide win for next president to assure investors of 'predictability' — ECCP

MANILA, Philippines — As May elections draw near, European investors in the Philippines are hoping for another landslide victory for the next president, which they believe could give investors a sense of  “predictability” in policymaking.

Lars Wittig, president of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine (ECCP) and country manager for Regus & Spaces by IWG, told an a press conference Friday that they are hoping for a repeat of election results last 2016, when President Rodrigo Duterte won the race to Malacañang with a big lead.

Among vying to replace Duterte are Vice President Leni Robredo, labor leader Leody de Guzman, Manila mayor Francisco Domagoso, Senators Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao and the late dictator's son Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

"When Duterte was elected, from a business point-of-view, what was good about Duterte was because he won with a landslide, that gives certainty and predictability," Wittig said.

"It is big help that whoever wins, it doesn't matter but who wins must win with a landslide," he added.

While he won with a huge margin, the firebrand Duterte nevertheless rocked the local business community with actions that, some experts said, likely turned off many foreign investors. In his vow to dismantle “oligarchs”, Duterte attacked several companies, including the telco duopoly PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. as well as water providers Manila Water Company Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc.

There was also the denial of a 25-year franchise to the Lopez family's ABS-CBN Corp. at the onset of the pandemic. The tiff began in 2018, when Duterte attacked the network for failing to air his paid presidential campaign ads in 2016.

But European investors said there were good reforms under the current administration. Wittig lauded the government’s push to lower corporate income tax (CIT) rates and open public utilities to foreign ownership, which he said could benefit key sectors like the local telecommunications industry.

"Most obvious is telcos. We know firsthand about the many EU telco companies that considered making their bid, they withdrew or left. There are such big investments because there is no control because of the maximum 40%, now they can go back for bigger ownership stakes," Wittig said.