The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry is urging the Marcos administration to undertake decisive action through procedural and policy reforms that go beyond prosecution to address the systemic corruption and abuses in government.

In an interview, newly-installed PCCI President Ferdinand “Perry” Ferrer said that corrective measures have to be instituted and institutionalized to prevent the massive abuse in power and stealing of peoples’ money from happening again.

“While corrective measures in budgeting and accountability are underway, there has to be policy changes that should stop corruption in government,” Ferrer said, adding that these measures must go beyond putting people in jail and bringing them to courts.

He said that corruption has indirectly affected enterprises operations. “We continue to run our businesses as resilient and as cautious as possible, but our people, the people in the operations have really been affected and dismayed over this massive corruption issue that has, at times, affected their productivity and ultimately, our overall operations,” Ferrer added.

He stressed the billions of pesos lost to corruption could have been channeled to better the country’s digital connectivity and infrastructure, which in turn could improve the Philippines’ position as an investment destination.

“The future is digital. Our MSMEs, which comprise 97 percent of businesses in the country, are not reliably connected to the internet. We need to ensure they are connected and can use e-commerce faster and efficient. If we improve their economic standing, the country improves,” he noted.

However, he clarified that cybersecurity is another concern that the government and private sector must work in handy to ensure that MSMEs can operate safely and efficiently in the digital space.

Moreover, Ferrer said that digitalization is also vital in improving the ease of doing business, providing transparency and efficiency, reducing human intervention, and aligning with global best practices.

“Starting a business is easy and simple but sustaining operations remains difficult due to regulatory inconsistencies. But there is a spark of hope at the end of the tunnel. There are agencies pushing hard for simplification,” he added.