PH ‘needs to spend more’ on infra

Peter Wallace says country’s spending makes up only 3% of GDP, neighboring countries at 6%

ALTHOUGH the Philippines has good economic figures, a business consultant lamented the lack of infrastructure spending.

Peter Wallace, who chairs the Wallace Business Forum, noted that the country’s infrastructure spending composed only three percent of the gross domestic product, as opposed to the average of six percent among neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.

Despite being second only to China as the fastest growing market for the first quarter, he noted that the country is “25 years behind” neighbors like Malaysia in terms of infrastructure development, saying they have an airport terminal bigger than the whole of Mactan island.

However, he admitted that the Aquino administration’s efforts to curb cor- ruption has helped the country.

His challenge for the country is effective leadership, saying Filipinos have proven that they are good at what they do, as shown by the need for foreign companies to retain Filipino workers over others in their workforce.

Necessary laws

He cited the case for Filipino seamen, who have managed to retain their jobs while those from other countries were sent home when companies began to feel the pinch of the global economic woes.

He added that Congress has a “poor record” of getting necessary laws passed.

Wallace called for major reforms and hopes that whoever replaces Aquino will continue in the same direction.

“Leadership is critical,” he said. As an example, he cited the case of North and South Korea. “They are essentially the same people artificially divided by a border.”

He noted the northern part is a socialist dictatorship while the south is a democracy yielding a $1.6 trillion gross domestic product. “The difference is only in leadership.”

Among the problems he sees for infrastructure are the practices that are done. He noted the practice of awarding contracts to the lowest bidder as somewhat flawed. “When you want to buy something, you want the best quality. How to you get the best quality if it’s so cheap?” he noted.

Reacting to Wallace’s discussion, honorary consul to Denmark and Norway Sabino Dapat also lamented Cebu’s lack of infrastructure projects from the govern- ment.

He said Cebu makes a significant contribution to the economy, with its high business process outsourcing and tourism revenues and yet its roads are over 50 years old and the airport is “not nice.”

Private sector

For Cebu Business Club president Gordon Alan Joseph, giving the private sector a voice will guarantee continuity of policies even after new leaders are elected into office.

Wallace was one of two main speakers at the finance and economic forum sponsored by the Financial Executives of the Philippines (Finex)-Cebu. He advises multi-national and Filipino companies on a “balanced assessment” of conditions, forecasts and what can be expected in the Philippines.