The Philippine authorities need to support small and medium enterprises, streamline business processing systems, and invest in infrastructure and human resources so that the country can attract more investments and create more jobs, a forum in Manila has heard.

"Ease of doing business is the key," Cecilio Pedro, president of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said during the hybrid forum it organized on Monday.

Pedro said that starting a business in the Philippines can be a long and tedious process as investors need to secure many permits from different agencies and wait for weeks before the papers can be processed. This is why, he said, it is difficult for the Philippines to compete with other Southeast Asian countries when it comes to attracting more investments.

According to a World Bank report on ease of doing business, the Philippines ranked 95th out of the 190 economies with a score of 62.8.Investors need 33 days and go through 13 procedures before they can set up a business in the Philippines. This is higher than the average 25.6 days and 6.6 procedures in East Asia and the Pacific region.

Pedro said enforcing energy reforms, such as the adoption of nuclear energy that can lower high electric power rates, can also attract more investors.

Pedro said a lot of Filipinos go abroad owing to a lack of opportunities in their home country. The Philippines is one of the world's biggest labor exporters, with more than 10 million Filipinos living overseas.

"Filipino workers are good, world-class, that's why companies abroad hire them," he said. But the problem is the Philippines is not benefiting from this brain drain, Pedro said, and that is why it is important to make the Philippines "a beautiful place to invest in and a beautiful place to do business".

Fiscal incentives

Philippine Senator Imee Marcos said other Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam provide better fiscal incentives compared with the Philippines. She said it also does not help that a lot of highly skilled Filipinos migrate to greener pastures, and that the country has high electricity rates.

Marcos said the government needs to help micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, especially in the rural areas. The government can offer idle lands for free and capital loans to budding entrepreneurs, and provide skills training to workers, she said, adding that authorities can also help these enterprises in conducting research and seizing market opportunities.

Marcos called for the promotion of local manufacturers to reduce reliance on business process outsourcing and remittances from overseas Filipino workers. The outsourcing industry accounts for roughly 8 percent of the Philippines' GDP and employs about 1.7 million people.

Marcos, who serves as chairwoman of the foreign relations committee in the Philippines' Senate, also addressed questions on foreign policy. She urged the government to uphold an independent and balanced approach similar to other Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia, which prioritize trade and economic cooperation.