In his State-of-the-Nation Address, President Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III, expressed his administration’s openness to engage in public-private sector partnership to undertake key development projects in the face of the unfavorable fiscal position of the government.

This openness indicates the trust that the present administration has in the private sector in providing the needed resources to finance or even operate what have heretofore been exclusive endeavors of government.

Earlier this month, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) submitted to the President a policy and action agenda that it hopes to be addressed in the first one hundred days and in the succeeding six years of the Aquino Administration. The PCCI highlighted three priority areas for immediate action: Anti-corruption, which was the core of President Aquino’s presidential campaign; fiscal rebalancing, the principal problem left behind by the previous administration; and competitiveness and jobs, in which Philippine performance has been deteriorating over the past 25 years.

In keeping with the commitment of their mother organization, the Metro Manila Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MMCCI), convenes Friday the 18th Metro Manila Business Conference (MMBC) at the historic landmark Manila Hotel. The 18th MMBC will enable the members of the MMCCI to focus their attention on gut issues that affect businesses in the metropolis.

This includes the concern about energy efficiency, the status of free trade agreements, disaster preparedness, and environmental protection.

Coming from a year that saw many business operations affected by disasters, the 18th MMBC provides an opportune venue for the officers and members of the Metro Manila Chambers of Commerce and Industry to chart a path that is relatively smoother and will lead to sustained recovery and growth.

We congratulate the participants and organizers of the Metro Manila Business Conference headed by its Organizing Committee Chairman Antonio C. Keh, its Officials and Members, and wish them all the best and success in all their endeavors.