In his economic and political briefing to NordCham members and guests on January 31, Mr. Peter Wallace, Chairman of the Wallace Business Forum, discussed the achievements of the Duterte Administration for the past six months and highlighted the change in pace of the government as compared with previous administrations. Among the key accomplishments he noted the issuance of an Executive Order on Freedom of Information, approval of 17 Public-Private Partnership projects, and decreasing business permit processing times. He also lauded Pres. Duterte’s initiative to conduct more meetings with the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council to push for more legislative action from Congress.
On concerns with local government units, Mr. Wallace believes that Pres. Duterte “has the greatest chance to resolve any issue with the LGUs, since he was formerly one of them”. Despite all the political noise surrounding the Duterte Administration and the volatility of the global economy, Mr. Wallace stated that the “Philippines will remain among the growth pace-setters in Asia in 2017”, outlining increased infrastructure spending, strong consumer spending and confidence, tax reform, and continuity of macroeconomic and monetary stability as key foundations for growth.
