PCCI: Businesses out of ‘magic wands’ for 2027

MANILA, Philippines — With no more magic wands left to wave after years of continuous measures to improve operational efficiency since the pandemic, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said businesses are bracing for tougher conditions in 2027.

“We have no more magic wands to be competitive because it’s in all angles hitting us. From the peso, the electricity, the fuel, transportation, everything is going up including food,” PCCI president Ferdinand Ferrer told reporters over the weekend.

While both businesses and consumers are preparing to celebrate Christmas, Ferrer said that celebrations are likely to be modest amid ongoing challenges.

“Christmas is sacred to us. No matter what the trouble, no matter what the challenges, we will always celebrate Christmas positively,” he said.

However, he said what lies ahead is expected to be a very difficult period as businesses are being hit by challenges on all sides.

“That is the truth. You cannot escape unless something drastic happens (like) miraculous government intervention,” he said.

Apart from contending with existing challenges, businesses are preparing for the impact of the El Niño, which is expected to be more severe than previous episodes.

Despite these, Ferrer said businesses have been looking for ways to improve operational efficiency and the whole value chain.

“The last thing we want to do is touch the people and let go. But it might happen, laying off. But we do not want that,” he noted.

While industries are already doing everything to keep themselves afloat, he said businesses need the government to step in.

“Now, we really need this national government intervention, whether it’s the currency, whether it’s the electricity, everything,” the PCCI president appealed.

He said the country needs a more stable currency exchange given that it imports a lot of products for its needs.

While consumers can support and buy Filipino-made products, Ferrer said this is easier said than done as local manufacturers also rely on imports for production inputs.

“Around P58 (per dollar), below P60 (per dollar) would be good for us because we are an import nation,” he said.

While salary adjustments are needed to address the high cost of living, he said simply raising the minimum wage will not solve the problem as workers still end up having to pay for goods and services at a higher price.

Ferrer urged the government to take action by using value-added tax collections to provide relief and to remove any unnecessary insertions in the 2027 budget.

“It’s painful for people to see and industries to see why, how come we didn’t learn from last year and all these insertions, all these strange things happening,” he said.

Earlier, the PCCI and other business groups flagged the additional allocation worth over P180 billion for the Department of Public Works and Highways in the proposed 2027 budget, with many of the items appearing as lump sums for multipurpose buildings and bypass roads and lacking project lists or proponents.

The PCCI’s call for government intervention was made ahead of today’s release of the third quarter economic performance.

In the second quarter, the economy grew by a revised 2.4 percent, bringing average growth in the first half to 2.6 percent.

For this year, the government’s target is for the economy to post 3.5 to 4.5 percent growth.