Makati Business Club urges President Marcos to prioritize five reforms
The Makati Business Club (MBC) has urged the Marcos administration to prioritize governance reforms, enhance the business environment, invest in skills development, and upgrade power and infrastructure.
Ahead of President Marcos' third State of the Nation Address (SONA), the MBC, representing conglomerates and multinational corporations in the country, has highlighted five pending bills that they believe should be given top priority by the government.
These bills include the Apprenticeship Program Reform (Senate Bill No. 2491), Enterprise-Based Education and Training Framework Act (SB No. 2587), Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Industry Development Act (SB No. 2247), People’s Freedom of Information (SB No. 1006), and Right-of-Way Act Amendments.
MBC acknowledged the Philippines' advancements in diplomatic initiatives over the past year, noting an increase in state visits by President Marcos and visits by world leaders to the country.
In light of these developments, MBC said that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) recently announced that the Marcos administration has secured $19 billion in investment pledges.
“We believe that there are important reforms that need to be done in order to turn these investment pledges into reality. Reforms in governance, ease of doing business, skills development, and improving power and infrastructure need to be fast-tracked so that the country can become more competitive,” MBC said.
“We respectfully advocate for the prioritization of the following reforms and hope that the President and the Cabinet will consider the acceleration of their passage,” it added.