PCCI to gather three former presidents, GMA in a forum

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the largest business group in the country, announced they will gather three former presidents and President Arroyo in a debate this December.

“We definitely want to talk to them to discuss the issues surrounding the country,” Edgardo Lacson, incoming president of the PCCI told The STAR at the sidelines of yesterday’s general membership meeting.   

Lacson stressed that the PCCI will remain apolitical. “The presidents’ forum will just be a medium to discuss the current state of the country in terms of businessmen, politics and some other things,” he explained further.  

PCCI has been working on gathering the four presidents since last year, PCCI president Samie Lim said.

“We are currently talking to the four presidents. There are some who have already agreed,” Lim said in an interview. “I believe the PCCI is the only group which can convince them to come together,” he added.

Lim said because the PCCI is a large organization, there are some members who are talking to the presidents individually.

“Some are talking to President Arroyo.  There will be others convincing President (Fidel V.) Ramos, President (Corazon C.) Aquino and President (Joseph E.) Estrada,” Lim explained.

According to him, some details of the forum still need to be ironed out like the location of the forum and the method.

“We don’t know yet if we will talk to them collectively or hold individual round table discussions,” he noted.

Lim said there may be some who will not be amenable to appearing together in a single forum so provisions are being made to hold a series of talks with the presidents.

Also, Lim said the presidents will have to agree on the moderator. To solve this particular problem, Lim said they will ask the presidents to submit names of acceptable moderators and then choose from the short list.

Lim said they are also not certain yet whether the forum will be open to the public or if it will be aired live on television. 

“We don’t know yet who to invite in this forum,” Lim said.