The Philippine Business Group (PBG) and Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) have called on President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to prioritize 21 pending legislative measures that will push for economic reforms.

Ahead of President Marcos’ State of the Nation Address (SONA), the PBG-JFC said these 21 bills are critical in driving economic growth, enhancing the country’s global competitiveness, and promoting inclusive development.

“In July 2022, we wrote to share a list of 24 legislative measures that 12 of the undersigned groups agreed to prioritize and advocate for before the 19th Congress. We greatly appreciate that, of the 24 measures, three have been signed into law, and three more have been identified in the LEDAC Common Legislative Agenda (CLA) for passage,” the PBG-JFC joint statement said on Tuesday.

Top of the list is the liberalization of foreign equity restrictions in the Constitution, which sought to remove limitations for foreign investors in participating in economic activities in the country.

The business groups are also pushing for the amendments to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) law and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Act for hybrid and flexible work schedules.

They also seek to simplify taxation of passive income and financial transactions, harmonize tax rates on interest, dividends, and capital gains, and rationalize the documentary stamp tax to reduce costs and improve compliance.

Filipino business groups and foreign chambers also wanted a shorter number of non-working holidays comparable to other Southeast Asian countries to reduce business cost by passing the Holiday Rationalization Act.

The PBG-JFC also asked President Marcos to support the Commonwealth Act 138 (FLAG Act) Repeal that sought to remove the 15 percent domestic preference in awarding contracts for construction or repair of public works.

The business groups said they aim for the timely passage of the following legislative measures: the Konektadong Pinoy Bill, the Freedom of Information Act, the Pandemic Protection Act, the International Maritime Trade Competitiveness Act, and the Satellite-based Technologies Promotion Act.

The PBG and JFC also said they support the amendments to the Secrecy of Bank Deposits Law, the E-Commerce Act, the Philippine Ports Authority Charter, and the Intellectual Property Code.

They are likewise pushing for the promotion of digital payments, institutionalizing a National Unemployment Insurance Program, strengthening the Philippine pension system, reforming the current apprenticeship program, and easing and increasing agricultural land ownership.

They also back the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience and the Philippine Airports Authority.

“With one year left in the current Congress, we believe that the 21 measures are achievable reforms that will generate substantial impact in achieving our shared vision of inclusive growth through job generation, poverty reduction, and global competitiveness,” the PBG-JFC said.

“We will continue to work with Congress and your administration in support of these remaining reforms as we look forward to your third State of the Nation Address,” their letter addressed to President Marcos read.

Signatories to the letter are the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc., the Association of International Shipping Lines, Inc., the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc., the Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc., the Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines, Inc., the Korean Chamber of Commerce Philippines, the Makati Business Club, the Management Association of the Philippines, the Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters, Incorporated (PAMURI), and the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (PNA)