Ready or not, the Philippine business community has no choice but to face tougher competition from its regional counterparts. Business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan said the Philippines remains unready for the ASEAN Integration.
“Like sugar, it is cheaper to import sugar, that will be good for Filipino consumers but you will displace four million people from their jobs. If you’re a sitting president, can you afford that, turn away four million of your people without the livelihood? You cannot. It will be suicide. And any sitting president, whether in Indonesia or Malaysia, will have the same issues,” he added.
Pangilinan chairs the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), and Manila Electric Co (MERALCO).
The creation of the AEC by yearend is seen to strengthen intra-regional trade and the free flow of capital, goods, skilled labor and services within the 10-nation ASEAN member states.
The Philippine government, for its part, has said the country is in a position to take on the challenges and seize opportunities in the upcoming full integration of the AEC beginning next year.