Business groups endorse Arroyo

Local business leaders expressed support yesterday for the candidacy of President Arroyo, who was guest speaker at the closing of the 25th National Conference of Employers at the Westin Philippine Plaza Hotel.

The respective heads of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the Federation of the Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII), and the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) relayed their statements of support to Mrs. Arroyo in her bid for a full six-year term.

Philippines Inc. president Miguel Varela told Mrs. Arroyo that the conference was supposed to come up with "resolutions on various shared concerns."

"We shall be able to present them to you, however, in person at Malacañang after the presidential elections," Varela told her.

"We are not really in a hurry because we have the gut feeling that you will stay in office (for a) much longer time frame," Valera said.

For his part, ECOP president Rene Soriano said that the business community is prepared to do its part in building up a more competitive Philippines by "forging constructive ties with other actors of society." "We are prepared to roll up our sleeves in support of a strong Philippine Republic, magsabi po lamang kayo (just tell us so)," he said.

Garments businessman and former ECOP president Donald Dee, on the other hand, told reporters that the Social Covenant for Full Employment signed by 17 business organizations and eight labor groups during the conference was proof that they all support the bid of Mrs. Arroyo for a full term.

"As you can see, everybody is talking about what we are going to do after elections, so we are assuming that we are talking with the same president," Dee pointed out.

Speaking for the Filipino-Chinese business community, FFCCCII president Robin Sy admitted that while they are divided on who to support among the presidential candidates in the May 10 elections, their association has eventually decided to back Mrs. Arroyo.

"The present political situation has caused some differences among businessmen. However, no matter who or what party we support, the real adversary is not our fellow Filipinos," Sy said.

"We are all aware that the real fight is global. We hope that our leaders will continue to strengthen our industries so that we can win the global competition," Sy pointed out.