Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin says the investment environment in the Philippines needs to improve further in order to compete with the economies of neighboring countries.

“The investment environment is actually improving, although marami pang kailangan na improvements (more improvements are still needed),” Garin said in a press briefing on Monday, April 1.

Garin gave this remark after she was asked about the recent report of HSBC Global Research, which said the investment environment in the country is “turning for the better”.

In a commentary, HSBC noted that foreign direct investments (FDIs) to the Philippines are producing sizable improvements compared to its sluggish inflows in previous decades.

The Philippines' FDI inflows are reportedly in the “middle of the pack” among other member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“Bakit ito nangyayari? Unang-una syempre (Why is this happening? First of all of course) if there is peace and order in our country, papasok ang mga investors (investors will come in),” said Garin.

“Kailangan na lang siguro is to improve the bureaucracy kasi may mga improvement naman pero medyo kulang,” she pointed out.

(Perhaps the only thing that's needed is to improve the bureaucracy since although there are improvements, but they are a bit inadequate.)

Garin underscored that the proposed amendments to the economic provisions in the 1987 Constitution will play a crucial role in paving the way for an enhanced investment environment.

“Kitang-kita na, na may problema ang Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas. Ang nagiging hadlang para mag take off tayo ay ang ating sariling Konstitusyon,” the lawmaker shared.

(It is obvious that there is a problem with the Philippine Constitution. What is preventing us from taking off is our own Constitution.)

The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading its pro-Charter change (Cha-cha) measure that aims to amend the restrictions on foreign ownerships in certain sectors, among other economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

“We have to do that now because napag-iiwanan na tayo, naiwan na nga, humahabol na nga lang tayo, pipilayan mo pa. So, pag pinilay natin ang mga paa ng Pilipinas na nagtatangkang humabol, talagang wala tayong patutunguhan,” noted Garin.

(We are being left behind, we've been left behind, we're just chasing them, and we could even get crippled during the chase. So, if we cripple the legs of the Philippines that is trying to catch up, we really have nowhere to go.)

Aside from the proposed economic amendments, the House leader said the government’s Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF) could also play a part in welcoming new investments particularly with its one-stop shop approach, where goods and services are easily available to the public.