Business and law
Melito Salazar Jr.
IN the mid-80’s, I was part of a team from the University of the Philippines that was invited to give a series of lectures in around 10 universities in China, including Fudan University and Beijing University. China was beginning to open up and liberalize its economy while still clamping down on the political front. As the director then of the University of the Philippines Institute of Small Scale Industries (UPISSI) and an advocate for entrepreneurship and small business development, I discussed the prerequisites for the nurturing of entrepreneurs. One of the main points I stressed was the need for a legal framework for business to operate and for the consumers to be protected. Fortunately, another member of the team was Professor Myrna Feliciano of the UP College of Law who very aptly presented the fundamentals for a legal system that would be appropriate for a market economy. The animated discussions after our presentations were indicative of the interests of the professors and students in evolving a Chinese system that would accommodate private ownership and business initiative and still consistent with the desire to ensure that the ultimate benefits would ensue to the masses.
In the Philippines, the legal foundation is sufficient to encourage business to thrive and trade to flourish. There are laws on contracts that cover the rights and responsibilities of parties engaged in business or in trade. There are laws that protect property rights and therefore encourage businessmen to put up establishments and expand them knowing that they can fully enjoy the fruits of their investments. There are the laws on intellectual property rights that encourage innovation and creativity by ensuring that the gifted can benefit from their creations. There are laws that cover consumer welfare so that the saying "buyer beware" gives way to "the consumer is king". The seller now must ensure that his product or service deliver what is promised and the consumer gets "value for money". In fact, it has been said that we may have too many laws in the country that the entrepreneurial spirit of business may already be constrained. A review of laws that stifle entrepreneurship should lead to congressional initiatives to repeal these bills.
In addition, what seems to be needed is to review the existing laws to determine whether these are sufficient given the demands of globalization and international agreements. It is also important to monitor the pioneering laws in other countries which have helped other economies prosper. It is in this regard that the Capital Markets Development Council has been advocating the passage of several crucial bills — PERA, the Credit Information Systems Act (CISA), the Lending Company Act, the Pre-Need bill and Corporate Recovery Act. It is hoped that Congress can be as fast in passing these bills as it was with the P125 increase in minimum wages considering that these bills will definitely increase employment and growth of the economy compared to the depressing effects of a legislated across the board minimum wage increase.
The present required publication of laws in a national newspaper is not sufficient. It is important for a public information campaign to be conducted by the legislature together with those who lobbied for these bills. Businessmen and the public must be fully aware of the ramifications of these legislations. Special seminars may be necessary for those in the executive departments who will be implementing these laws and for those in the judiciary who will be interpreting these laws in case of conflicts and disagreements. In fact, having a pool of experts in economy and business to serve as resource persons for the judiciary may not be a bad idea. All these preparations are necessary if the country will get the full benefits of these laws. Otherwise, we will still see the best of laws being implemented in the worst ways and even ignored by those who have the sworn duty to uphold them.
Business Bits. We commend the appointment of Ms. Gilda Pico as the first lady president of the Land Bank of the Philippines. She is the first to come up in the ranks in the bank’s 43-year history. In my stint in government, I have always been partial to promotions of the people within the organization. Not only do they have the institutional memory but their deep roots in government service makes them less prone to give in to the political and corrupt machinations.
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