VP aspirant Manny Lopez shares strategies for economic recovery

VP aspirant Manny SD Lopez, vice chairman of the national advisory board of the Labor Party of the Philippines, also known as Workers and Peasants Party, leads the Visayas Conference 2021 on Thursday, November 4, 2021, at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino in Barangay Lahug. | via Mae Fhel Gom-os

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Vice presidential aspirant Manny Lopez, who is also the vice chairman of the national advisory board of the Labor Party of the Philippines (LPP), is proposing three economic strategies for the economic recovery in the country.

During the LPP, also known as Workers and Peasants Party, where Visayas Conference 2021 on Thursday, November 4, 2021 was launched, Lopez said one of his proposed strategies was the new Omnibus Investment Code to improve on the how to do business and enhance the competitive factor to attract more foreign direct investments in the country.

The vice presidential aspirant noted that the current Omnibus Investment Code was written in 1987, where there was still no ‘globalization and new digital economy.’

“Ang bago ko po na mungkahi na magkaroon tayo ng bagong Omnibus Investment Code (My new idea is to have a new Omnibus Investment Code), which will improve the way we do business that will eventually attract more foreign investments, propels jobs and business opportunities [and] livelihood. And that will help propel our economic recovery,” he siad,

Apart from that, he is also proposing to have a “Bankruptcy law” that will give a second chance to businesses that were badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said due to the restrictions and closure of businesses amid the pandemic, micro and medium enterprises, even professionals, were badly affected by its ill effects, slowing down the overall economy growth both in the national and global level.

With the law, Lopez said entrepreneurs would be given protection and that it would help them recover and generate profits and employment in the future.

“Ito po ay hindi nila kasalanan kaya mas mabuti po na mabigyan sila ang suporta by way of coming up with a Bankruptcy Law that will allow a legal framework upang sila ay makabangon,” he said.

(This is not their fault so it will be better that they will be given support by way of coming up with the Bankruptcy Law that will allow a legal framework so that they can rise up again.)

“In the same framework, mabibigyan po sila ng protection ang mga nagpautang at yung mga nagkakautang para po sila ay maka reorganize at makatayo muli sa kanilang pagkalugi at get back to their business and perhaps generate profits in the future and maybe generate employment and even to the makakabayad sila. Whereas kung wala pong bankruptcy law, they are completely wala na, patay na ang negosyo,” Lopez added.

(In the same framework, those who lend money and those who borrow money so that they can reorganize and stand up from being bankrupt and to get back to their business and perhaps, generate profits in the future, and even maybe generate employment and even to those who have already paid. Whereas if there is a Bankruptcy Law, they are completely nothing, their business is dead.)

Moreover, Lopez said there is a need for entrepreneurs to have an operating capital to recover from the pandemic.

“Upang itong mga kompanyang ito, ang ating mga businessmen entreprenuers, upang sila po ay makatayo muli, kailangan ng operating capital marami po dyan naubos ang operating capital dahil sa pagkalugi. Halos dalawang taon napo tayong nahihirapan dito sa mga iba’t-ibang restrictions na kailangan upang masugpo natin itong COVID 19 at ibang variants,” he said.

(This is so the company and our businessmen entrepreneurs, so that they can stand up again, they need the operating capital. Many of the others who need operating capital dankue to it being bankrupt. It has been nearly two years and we have suffered due to the different restrictions that are needed to prevent COVID-19 and its other variants.)

He said such strategies should be combined to come up with a comprehensive approach for the economic recovery.

“So all these three strategies, we have to combine it together para (for) comprehensive po ang (our) approach, integrated and in due course, we will be able to effect a faster and more efficient economic recovery program,” Lopez said.

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