Industrialist calls for political truce

Industrialist Raul Concepcion proposed yesterday a one-year moratorium on "adversarial politics and negativism"to help the country overcome an impending economic crisis and a global recession next year.

"The crisis we are facing today is the worst since the war," Concepcion, who chairs the Consumer and Oil Price Watch, warned.

Concepcion pointed out that the World Trade Organization is expecting a global recession next year.

He said unless all sectors including government, business, civil society, labor, non-government organizations, politicians and even mass media get their act together, "we will have a Herculean task of turning the economy around vis-a-vis our Asean neighbors."

Concepcion, a member of the executive committee of the National Socio-economic Summit, said he would propose five issues for consideration in the pre-summit meeting.

These are:

• A call for restraint and a one-year moratorium on adversarial politics and negativism.

• Good governance and corporate governance.

• Resolving the peace and order, kidnapping and the Mindanao peace issue.

• The mounting Metro Manila garbage problem now entering crisis proportions.

• The Metro Manila traffic problem.

The businessman also batted for the creation of a joint government and private sector task force with a six-month life span to address these issues.