I congratulate the Employers Confederation of the Philippines on their 34th National Conference of Employers. I have the honor of calling many of you my personal friends, some as far as my days as a university student but I consider many more if not all of you as colleagues in the noble enterprise of nation building. I would like to thank you for your invitation as it is my great pleasure to speak before the captains of industry.

            Let me begin by sharing with you some impressive facts about our country. First, over the past several weeks, we have experienced three investment rating upgrades from three well known international investment and credit rating agencies. This has effectively put the Philippines as an investment destination of choice for foreign and local capitalists.

            Second, our economy remains on a growth trajectory despite a volatile world economy coming from the aftermath of the global financial crisis of the past decade. Last year, we have posted a GDP growth of 6.6 percent, a rate far better than our ASEAN-6 neighbors. Over the same period, Net Foreign Direct Investment is at $2 billion, and our country7rsquo;’s ranking in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index has improved significantly.

            Whilst there are many that we have to be thankful for, we still have an equally great array of challenges before us. Although our economy continues to grow at a rapid pace, we are still faced with the problem of high unemployment. How do we translate our impressive economic growth to produce more jobs for our people and channel the surge of money created by this growth to industries and fulfill our goal of inclusive growth?

            This administration has been elected on the promise of equal opportunities for all, and your conference focuses on the very theme which, together, we need to attain, which is inclusive growth for prosperity to all.

            Edgar Russell Fiedler once said, “If you ask five economists for a definition, you’ll get five different answers - six if one went to Harvard.” The concept of inclusive growth tends to fuel such confusion and even risks remaining nothing more than a motherhood statement. Setting aside the difficulties of definition, inclusive growth is one of the governmen’s goals that is envisioned, contained and quantified within the Philippine Development Plan. Expansive efforts have been applied towards making sure that the priority projects under the government’s flagship public-private partnership programs can be fast tracked so as to spur the generation of thousands of jobs.

            Even in areas under my watch such as housing, job creation remains a key consideration during planning and implementation, as we believe the sector is capable of making significant contributions towards this cause. In addition, housing efforts serve to unlock dead wealth and provide the beneficiaries with access to banking and financial instruments which they were previously ineligible for.

            This past month, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) started updating the Philippine Development Plan:2011-2016 to ensure sustainability and inclusiveness of the country’s economic growth. According to NEDA, the PDP midterm update will underscore three critical elements – high and sustained economic growth; growth that generates mass employment; and growth that reduces poverty and facilitates the achievement of the millennium development goals.

            My good friend and your president Ed Lacson often asks, "How can you have an economic boom if we have a high unemployment rate? There is economic growth but it remains a jobless growth.”While we wish to see more jobs generated, we cannot be content with just the quantity of jobs. Quality of employment must carry equal weight. We wish to see wage-earning jobs created and eventually, a vast spectrum of employment opportunities so that upward mobility between economic classes becomes more possible and less difficult.

            If we wish to see this diversity of opportunity built, then we must continually ask tough questions and take even bolder steps to allow key sectors to attract timely and significant investments. Clear policies must be set to allow industries such as agriculture, mining and infrastructure to thrive, with adequate safeguards in place to assure environmental security and sustainability. Plans should include milestones and measures to attract investments in manufacturing that shall build on the dividends earned in the primary sectors. This shall increase the demand for a wide and evolving selection of services, which shall create even more employment opportunities for a wider segment of our population.

            Strengthening our small and medium enterprises likewise requires focus from government. SMEs comprise 99 percent of the companies in Japan and Korea and contribute close to 50 percent of their nations’ output.SMEs also comprise 99 percent of all Filipino firms but account for only 35 percent of our national output. This limits the ability of the Filipino SME to create better opportunities for the people they employ and also places them in the most difficult position when issues like wage hikes and benefits are tackled in Congress. While we must allow the spirit of competition and a level playing field to take root, we must also provide our entrepreneurs and businessmen with an environment that gives them a decent chance to succeed.

            The creation of an investment-attractive environment falls on the shoulders of government, but this alone is insufficient to complete our quest. The co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Indian Economic Summit, Ajit Gulbabchand said it best, “The private sector needs to understand that they are now expected by society to play a role that goes beyond the role for which their businesses was created.” I hope and pray that each entrepreneur and businessman sees beyond the profit goals of his enterprise and volunteers his efforts to the country’s policymakers and leadership.

            Help us formulate regulations and programs that can spur competitiveness in the global marketplace given the Philippines’ strengths and limits. Be quick to tell us what does not work and even quicker to suggest prospects that are viable. Show us where sunrise industries may dawn and how we can best seize these opportunities and how we can best use education to support these drives. Profit is your competence and where profit can be ethically made and sustained, government must be able to act with clarity and urgency so as to allow the businessman to excel.

            We in government must seize this moment to attract investments in the real economy, in manufacturing and agriculture which provide permanent and highest job generation potential. In consultation with industry and business organizations like ECOP and others like PCCI, Philexport, and FFCCCII, we must and will craft policies that are stable, business friendly, fair, and sustainable.

            We shall fulfill our role as a catalyst, guardian, and officer on watch of the national economic development programs that will balance the interest of labour and capital. In the end, inclusive growth is not a mere slogan. Rather, it is a commitment that both public and private sectors must collectively pursue as partners.

            Working together is the key to fulfilling these goals. ECOP has always stood at the front of such constructive cooperation and I ask that you continue to stand with us to see our mutual goals achieved.

            While we must be prudent and cautious, we cannot rest on our laurels or fall to the trap of false patience. There is an urgency to our tasks and we cannot wait too long to secure results. We need the courage to make things happen, to push the envelope whenever possible and usher in innovation through working together. And as my own experience has shown,this kinship and solidarity can turn even the most daunting tides.

            I look forward to all that this conference shall propose and pursue. And I assure you of my constant support in ensuring that the progress we seek is a progress that each and every Filipino will benefit from.

            Magandang umaga po at mabuhay kayong lahat!