INCREASED manufacturing investment is considered a key condition for bringing about a recovery because of the volume of jobs the sector can potentially generate, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said on Monday.
“I think it’s important for us to pursue manufacturing, where you can generate more employment. At the same time, the agriculture sector must be looked into. More often than that, we try to encourage more people to invest in our country in the sector of manufacturing, knowledge space, or services,” PCCI President George T. Barcelon said on the BusinessWorld Live program on One News channel.
Mr. Barcelon said agriculture investment is also needed to wean the Philippines from its dependence on imported food.
“We have to craft our laws to allow foreign companies to come in and also invest in agriculture. On the agriculture side, imports to meet our food requirement are high. We are realistic (about not being able to) produce enough. Now, if companies can come in and help us through investment (in) proper irrigation, proper information systems, that would really be beneficial to all,” Mr. Barcelon said.
“We have the market here. We are 110 million in population. Demand is high,” he added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave