Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Jose 'Joey' Concepcion III believes that the overwhelming mandate given to Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. during the last elections presents a greater chance for inclusive growth for the Philippines.
Concepcion made this statement after the partial unofficial results of the May 9 elections showed that Marcos got the vote of over 31 million Filipinos.
In the PTV's Laging Handa briefing, Concepcion said the votes Marcos received came from the underprivileged.
“From my point of view, the underprivileged have been heard," he said Friday, May 13.
"Ang daming bumoto (Many people voted); maybe because they see na malaki ang pag-asa under him (they see hope under him),” he added.
Concepcion shared that he had advised the incoming president to give his full support to micro, medium, and small enterprises (MSMEs) to make the economy's growth more inclusive.
"Most businesses here are MSMEs – 99.5 percent – and they provide more than half of the jobs in this country,” he said.
The Go Negosyo founder said that helping these small enterprises will be necessary considering several challenges that await the new administration, including a record P12.68-trillion debt and a debt-to-GDP (gross domestic) ratio that now stands at 63.5 percent, nearing the highest level since 2005.
Stagflation brought about by rising commodity prices due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis can also dampen growth, he said.
Concepcion likewise said that the incoming administration must assure foreign investors of a competent and transparent government.
“Kung makita ang gobyerno ay maganda, mahusay at transparent, mas maraming papasok na foreign investors (If they see that the government is good, efficient, and transparent, more foreign investors will come in),” he said, noting that President Duterte’s economic team had already laid the groundwork for the ease of entry for foreign investors.
He added that the incoming administration must take care not to lose the momentum that has been built up in the country’s fight against Covid-19.
“We cannot afford to have heightened alert levels," Concepcion said.
“We already saw how our GDP grew by 8.3 percent this first quarter when we opened the economy,” he said.