Business groups throw support behind Win Gatchalian's senatorial bid

Business groups are throwing their all-out support behind the senatorial bid of Valenzuela City Congressman Sherwin "WIN" Gatchalian who is running under the Nationalist Peoples Coalition (NPC), the second largest political party in the country today.

At least three groups have formally aired their support for Gatchalian in a fund-raising event held at the Manila Pavillion recently. The groups include the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) , PhilExport and the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FFCCCI).

Howard Dee of PhilExport pointed to Gatchalian's sterling track record as Valenzuela City mayor as the main reason why Filipino-Chinese businessmen are behind the Nationalist Peoples Coalition (NPC) senatorial candidate.

Dee cited that the 3S Plus program of Valenzuela City which simplified the process of getting business permits to just 30 minutes from 14 to 21 days, as well as building and occupancy permits to two to three days from the previous seven days.

Valenzuela City has earned the praise of the National University of Singapore (NUS) for its 3S (Simple, Speed, Service) program, a public sector innovation expediting business permits and payment transactions that used to be a major hurdle to city businessmen and potential investors. The 3S Plus program also helped Valenzuela City earn the Galing Pook Award in 2011 for innovations and excellence in local governance.

"The 3S Plus program shortened the process of obtaining the Transfer of Tax Declaration to 15 to 30 minutes from the original timeframe of two days.It also allows taxpayers to see information on their real property tax online and to pay for some transactions via their mobile phones," explained Dee.

PCCI's Serge Ortiz Luis said Valenzuela City businessmen have noticed Gatchalian's good governance in his nine years as mayor which contributed greatly to attracting others to do business in the former strike capital of Metro Manila.

Valenzuela City is a Hall of Famer for Most Business-Friendly Local Government Unit by the PCCI after winning the award for three-consecutive years starting 2012.

"What is commendable was that Gatchalian harnessed the power of technology in helping its constituents in finding work through PESO Online, the first ever job-matching online initiative of a local government unit in the country. The database pairs qualified applicants to available jobs before being notified for job requirements," said Ortiz Luis.

Teresita Ang-See of the Movement for the Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO) cited Gatchalian's good governance that resulted to the commendable peace and order situation in Valenzuela City, which is now the 3rd safest city in the world according to Numbeo.

Gatchalian's brand of governance, which emphasized honesty and integrity, led the city into being recognized as the Top 1 Best Governed Highly Urbanized City by the DILG in 2010, a BusinessFriendly City in the country by the World Bank in 2011, a center for innovations and excellence worthy of the Galing Pook Award in 2012.

For his corporate-style leadership, Gatchalian received numerous accolades including The Outstanding Young Man Honoree for Public Service from the Junior Chamber International Philippines in 2011 and Manila 40 Under 40 International Development Leaders by the Development Executive Group (DevEx) in 2013.

Under Gatchalian's leadership as mayor from 2004 to 2013, the Valenzuela City local government had over 2,000 classrooms built. The city also bagged the number one spot in the National Achievement Test for Elementary for school years 2009 to 2010 and 2010 to 2011.

If elected senator, Gatchalian's legislative agenda will focus on making quality education accessible to all deserving Filipinos and on making economic growth inclusive, by pushing for measures promoting the development of small and medium enterprises and promotion of microfinance.