The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the Department of Finance (DOF) have partnered again for this year’s Sulong Pilipinas.
Sulong Pilipinas is an annual consultative conference initiated by President Duterte’s economic team headed by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III. This year’s Sulong is slated sometime in March.
PCCI President George T. Barcelon expressed appreciation to DOF for the trust to carry out the annual activity that engages all sectors in lively and constructive discussions between the government and private sectors.
Barcelon underscored the importance of Sulong Pilipinas as a venue to reach out to and strengthen public and private collaborations in various concerns, among others, Ease of Doing Business, financing the MSMEs, Agri-agra and Agrarian; power, water, and climate, connectivity (wifi, roads, rail), health and human skills development.
“We know that there are efforts along these issues, and we thank the government for doing its job, but there is still much to be done,” Barcelon said.
He added that a strong PPP is crucial to accelerate resolutions of these issues that hinder the growth of business, particularly, the MSMEs.
This year’s Sulong Pilipinas is the 6th and final Sulong of the Duterte administration. “We hope that whoever will lead us after the May national elections, would continue this platform because it’s really very effective in terms of collaboration with business stakeholders,” Barcelon added.
PCCI and DOF partnership started in 2016 in Davao when the first Sulong Pilipinas was launched. This year, the conference is slated in March and will be done virtually. It will have plenary and breakout sessions.