The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) is working on formulating strategies to provide e-mediation services for both business and consumers as part of its effort to support the country’s e-commerce roadmap.
PCCI Chair Ma. Alegria “Bing” Sibal Limjoco said this as online business transactions grew the strongest in the country where most economic sectors plunged during the pandemic period due to the continuing movement restrictions imposed by the government to control the spread of the virus.
Limjoco explained that PCCI’s National Mediation Center (NCM) which offers an alternative mechanism to resolve business conflicts through mediation, is in partnership with the Conflict Resolutions (CORE) Group. They are now discussing strategies to provide an e-mediation services for both business and consumer alike.
Limjoco, who is also chairman of the Philippine Retailers Association and Philippine Franchise Association, business organizations have committed to pursue programs that will support and complement the 2022 E-Commerce Roadmap that was launched recently by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
“The PCCI, Philippine Franchise Association (PFA), and the Philippine Retailers Association (PRA), which I represent, fully support this roadmap and commit our cooperation to pursue our shared vision of promoting e-commerce in the country,” said Limjoco.
Limjoco noted that the E-Commerce Roadmap is very timely and significant, considering the accelerated use of e-commerce due to the pandemic, which also bared the country’s deficiencies in this field.
“This Roadmap, which outlines government and private sector strategies to advance e-commerce in the country, once implemented, will help us fully maximize the growth prospects for digital economy,” she stressed.
She congratulated the DTI, especially Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, for providing the leadership in the crafting of the Roadmap. “Truly, the 2022 E-Commerce Roadmap is a testament to the productive partnership of the public and the private sectors."
Limjoco shared that as early as August last year, the PCCI already started a dialog among stakeholders to find ways to promote cashless transactions and increase uptake of digital payments among the members of the PCCI, PFA, and PRA. “We hope to continue with this initiative in partnership with the office of Trade Assistant Secretary Jean Pacheco.
The PCCI, she added, already launched an e-commerce platform carrying the brand SHOPALL during the Philippine Business Conference last year in support of the government’s Roadmap. This platform to be operated by the Philippine Business Center will allow members of PCCI and local chambers to sell their products and services online.
The largest business organization in the country also recently launched the PCCI innovation center, which is envisioned to serve as a central hub to facilitate knowledge exchange among the tech-savvy start-ups and established businesses.
With the support of Huawei, the center will also provide mentorship programs in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, coding, bi data analytics, internet of things (IOT) among others. This is a realization of the personal advocacy of our president Amb. Benedicto V. Yujuico who from the start of his term has advocated for innovation for business. “And, of course, we continue to dialogue with our member and stakeholders to discuss pressing concerns relating to the propagation of e-commerce in the country and identify solutions that can be implemented both by the government and private sector. In fact, the PFA and PRA are calling on the local government units to be more considerate to the businesses affected by the pandemic particularly on calculating the payments for business permit renewal. Issues such as this should also be considered in the roadmap to help our SMEs recover and flourish,” she added.