10 things businessmen would like to hear in PNoy's SONA

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What can the government do to improve business and investment conditions in the Philippines? Here are 10 things some business leaders said they would like discussed, or even mentioned, by President Aquino in his upcoming State of the Nation Address.

1. "What we would like to see are his plans for the next four years, how to ensure we can grow at 5-7 percent in the next four years, how to remove all the bottlenecks and barriers to business. It's good that business confidence is up so we want to see more of that and allow more investors to come." - Eduardo Francisco, president of the Management Association of the Philippines
2. "Hopefully, in the next four years, now that they understand business already, they know what needs to be addressed. They'll focus on the growth area and maybe the inclusive growth. It will be nice if they will address the poor, give more jobs to everybody so it’s spread out at hindi lang ang big corporations ang yumayan." - Eduardo Francisco, president of the Management Association of the Philippines
3. "We wish that he would consider responsible mining as one of the pillars of a growing economy." - Rocky G. Dimaculangan, vice president for communications of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines
4. "They just have to continue priming the economy. The PPP is a big impetus to growth so I think the momentum is there in terms of bidding out the significant PPP projects. We're hoping that will happen as soon as possible because that can be an initial catalyst to growth." - Jaime Ysmael, chief financial officer of Ayala Land Inc.
5. "I wish the SONA earnestly addresses the plight of the less fortunate in our society and the peace and order situation." - Jose Sio, chief financial officer of SM Investments Corp.
6. "Support local manufacturing/assembly of motor vehicles. Enhance competitiveness of local parts suppliers to achieve economies of scale. Strengthen domestic base for eventual export of vehicle units." - Rommel Gutierrez, president of Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines
7. "We hope that the President can set in motion a Philippine roadmap for the Asean One Community in 2015. Bringing together all sectors now will be critical in getting the country ready for 2015 and ensuring that we can maximize the opportunities of free trade in the Asean." - Peter Angelo Perfecto, executive director of Makati Business Club
8. "On the legislative front, the President must push to a conclusion FOI, sin taxes, rationalization of fiscal incentives and mining law amendments, among others." - Peter Angelo Perfecto, executive director of Makati Business Club
9. "We laud the government's reforms and it takes time for these reforms to sink in, but when they do, the major beneficiaries will be businesses. There is so much that needs to be done like improving infrastructure and addressing certain issues like the high power rates." - Crisanto Frianeza, secretary-general of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry
10. "We just want the President to make some statement on how he can help exporters during this time of crisis. We hope he can instruct his economic managers to help the exporters. We hope to see a bias for an exchange rate that is market driven, but favorable to exporters and OFWs. We wish the government can help in the funding for the promotion and product development of exports and provide the needed infrastructure to lower costs." - Sergio Ortiz-Luis, president of Philippine Exporters Confederation

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