Francis Chua, President of the Federation of Filipino Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FFCCI) and a ConCom member, said the private sector would like to put some caution on the further opening up of the domestic economy.

"These should be time-bounded," Chua stressed.

Chua cautioned that not because we are in dire need of capital, "we should be giving away without protecting ourselves."

"True we are in need of capital and we should further liberalize to encourage inflow of investments but we must also protect ourselves," Chua stressed.

For instance, foreigners are given only five years to develop a property that they have purchased.

In addition, Chua said the government must also demand for reciprocity with other countries on areas where they are allowed to enter into.

For instance, in the tri-media industry, if China is allowed to invest in this sector the Philippines must also be allowed to invest in China in this sector. The same goes for other sectors that may be opened to full foreign participation.

At present, tri-media in China is government controlled.

Aside from foreigners not allowed to invest in the tri-media sector in the Philippines, there is also a prohibition against a company with investments in all three forms of media, television, radio and print.

Local firms are allowed to own up to two only but Chua said that with convergence and advanced technology, it would be difficult to say that one cannot go to the other form of media.