At least 30 business organizations are signing a Joint Statement of Support calling for the immediate passage of the long delayed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Bill with all the critical features to boost businesses and attract more investors into the country.
This was revealed by Aurelio “Gigi” Montinola during his inaugural address as new president of the Management Association of the Philippines after his oath taking and the new MAP Board by Inducting Officer, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III.
Montinola said this as he outlined MAP’s policy directions during his term. For the economy, he said, MAP’s main immediate goal is to push for the passage of the CREATE Bill which will reduce Corporate Income Taxes to 20 percent for smaller businesses, establish 10-year sunset periods for specific incentive industries, and provide a much-needed P250 billion stimulus to safely reopen the economy.
“MAP is joining at least 30 business organizations in signing within this week the Joint Statement of Support for CREATE and the Joint Letters to House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Senate President Vicente Sotto urging them to act quickly on the enactment of CREATE,” he said.
He also noted that the business community has set the start of bigger face to face meetings in the second semester this year, when inoculation of the COVID-10 vaccines could have at least been implemented on a wider scale.
“We foresee a first semester of mostly Zoom meetings, but hope to return to limited face to face events, particularly for the Major Conferences in the second half of the year,” he said.
MAP will also work to ensure good health stressing that health is wealth be focusing on how best to secure vaccines for its (smaller) member companies who are not included in the current government priority lists.
MAP will also advocate public transportation that provides Mobility that is ESSENTIAL for the economy and society to function properly and be productive.
For the medium term, MAP will push certain policy recommendations of a MAP - UAP (University of Asia and the Pacific) study commissioned in 2020. In particular, we wish to promote Ease of Doing Business government digitalization efforts and improved Public Information Communications and Technology (ICT) Connectivity.
For environment, Montinola said, MAP will work towards an appropriate Policy Prescription. MAP supports the development of a Natural Capital Accounting bill to measure physical units of terrestrial and marine resources of the country, as well as three environmental projects in Occidental Mindoro, Laguna, and Batangas.
This should also be balanced with data-based analysis of our Energy Security and Water Security situation.
For education, he said, MAP will collaborate with PBED (Philippine Business for Education Development)
to highlight the Learning Crisis that the Philippines is in today, particularly at a time of unequal access among our learners, and the lack of a clear Plan to bring our students back to school safely. If not urgently addressed, we may end with a South African university message that closes with the sobering words, “The collapse of education is the collapse of a nation.”
“But most of all, we should push out of our comfort zone, and pay equal attention to social justice issues, and to lead for the common good,” he said.
To provide jobs, he urged the reopening and revival of the wholesale and retail trade, agriculture and fisheries, and construction sectors, which make up for 50 percent of total Job to alleviate poverty in the country and provide food particularly for the 48 percent self-perceived poor families.
In addition, Montinola also cited the need for values formation. “We need to work on changing attitudes and behaviors of Filipino Youth and the Common Man on the Street, in order to achieve a meaningful and sustainable change in society.”
In conclusion, he appealed to the more than 1,000 strong MAP membership to support their new MAP Board, and to share member best practices to help each other and the national community.