The “Sulong Pilipinas” secretariat has advised journalists that only members of the business sector will be allowed to pose questions during the scheduled question and answer portion with President-elect Duterte who is scheduled to attend the forum at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow.

“Please note that this is a purely business event and not a political coverage,” the note from the secretariat said.

“Only the participants from the business community will be allowed to ask questions during the presentation of the recommendations which will be moderated by incoming Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez,” it added.
Incoming National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director-General Ernesto Pernia is expected to present the country’s economic situation, while Dominguez is scheduled to present the Duterte administration’s 10-point socio-economic agenda.

The updated 10-point agenda includes the following:

• Continue and maintain current macroeconomic policies, including fiscal, monetary, and trade policies.

• Institute progressive tax reform and more effective tax collection, indexing taxes to inflation. A tax reform package will be submitted to Congress by September 2016.

• Increase competitiveness and the ease of doing business. This effort will draw upon successful models used to attract business to local cities (e.g., Davao) and pursue the relaxation of the Constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership, except as regards land ownership, in order to attract foreign direct investment;

• Accelerate annual infrastructure spending to account for 5% of GDP, with Public-Private Partnerships playing a key role.

• Promote rural and value chain development toward increasing agricultural and rural enterprise productivity and rural tourism.

• Ensure security of land tenure to encourage investments, and address bottlenecks in land management and titling agencies.

• Invest in human capital development, including health and education systems, and match skills and training to meet the demand of businesses and the private sector.

• Promote science, technology, and the creative arts to enhance innovation and creative capacity towards self-sustaining, inclusive development.

• Improve social protection programs, including the government’s Conditional Cash Transfer program, to protect the poor against instability and economic shocks.

• Strengthen implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law to enable especially poor couples to make informed choices on financial and family planning.

The event is organized by the Department of Finance and NEDA, in partnership with the Mindanao Business Council (MBC) and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (PCCII).

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