President Aquino is wooing European investments as business confidence in the country slipped in the latest survey. Still, there’s a lot of good news that the President can convey to European businessmen.
His focus on the campaign against corruption is bearing fruit. In a country where corruption scandals in the past reached all the way to the top levels of government, having a president untouched by graft allegations is a refreshing change.
This cannot be said, however, of some of the President’s allies and friends. And while the Philippines has seen its ranking progressively improve in annual international surveys on ease of doing business, the country continues to lag behind many of its more competitive Southeast Asian neighbors.
Businessmen may also wonder if the President was referring to another country when he told European investors in Brussels that it takes only three days and one form to fill out to obtain the necessary licenses and permits to open a business in the Philippines. Enormous red tape in opening, operating and even closing a business in this country has to be one of the principal deterrents to the entrepreneurial spirit among Filipinos. The President’s reassurance of a level playing field in doing business will also raise eyebrows.
Those reassurances, however, can serve as objectives that the President can pursue in his last two years in office. He can support the passage of anti-trust legislation and, within his executive powers, approve more measures to open up the economy. He can task the Department of the Interior and Local Government to work with local executives and pertinent national agencies to approve simplified and, as much as possible, uniform requirements for doing business.
The President’s trip will help raise European awareness of the Philippines as a destination for investment and tourism. Once his sales pitch starts bearing fruit and more Europeans come to the Philippines for a closer look, he must see to it that the visitors will not be disappointed.