Despite the government’s push for countryside development, Metro Manila businesses still believe that the National Capital Region (NCR) will remain the Philippines’ center for economic activities over the next 10 years.

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI)-NCR vice president and 2024 Metro Manila Business Conference chairman Hernando Delizo said the development projects of both public and private sectors outside the capital will take time, and Metro Manila will continue to hold a significant role in the Philippine economy.

“I still see it (as the country’s economic hub) in the next 10 years, I suppose, because these developments, while nice to hear, it will take time,” Delizo said in a press conference at Casa de Polo, Valenzuela City on Wednesday.

“Infrastructure development is a bit challenging, especially with the rising cost of materials and manpower. We are also in support of that, but depopulating Metro Manila is not easy,” he added.

The government has been promoting the New Clark City in Central Luzon as an alternative to Metro Manila, tagging the former as the country’s first smart, green, and resilient metropolis.

With the upcoming rehabilitation of the country’s main gateway, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), airlines are expected to temporarily transfer their flights to Clark International Airport, while the proposed Bulacan International Airport also aims to decongest NAIA.

There are also ongoing initiatives to promote different parts of the country as new investment hubs.

Delizo said despite the various efforts to bring economic activities in other parts of the country, Metro Manila will “evolve itself to something better” and sustain its growth “on a different scale.”

“We are evolving, we are adaptable, we are resilient people,” he said.

But to sustain the growth and the economic role of NCR in the country, the government, especially Metro Manila mayors, has to address key challenges that the business group identified as bottlenecks to growth.

These challenges include ease of doing business, traffic problems that exacerbate logistics costs, high power rates, and environmental issues.

The PCCI-NCR aims to address these challenges to local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila through a resolution that will be passed by the business group in their upcoming 2024 Metro Manila Business Conference at The Manila Hotel on Aug. 21 to 22, with the theme “Integrating Trade, Technology, and Tourism for Sustainable Economic Transformation.”

Delizo said that in terms of ease of doing business, Metro Manila enterprises urged NCR mayors to have uniform business taxes and to make business taxes transparent by disclosing the rate to the public.

The traffic woes can also be solved by a shorter workweek, and he said Metro Manila businesses are open to the idea of a four-day workweek to ease traffic congestion.

Making the metropolis a pedestrian-friendly city will also help in decongesting traffic in the metropolis, the executive said.

Delizo added that the national government should also encourage investments in power to increase the capacity and lower rates of electricity.

Metro Manila mayors were also encouraged to promote sustainability by implementing policies that would address environmental issues in NCR. (PNA)