THE DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry (DTI) will develop a competitiveness policy that will allow regions and urban centers to specialize in industries where they are most competitive, Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said.
Speaking at the close of the League of Corporate Foundations’ (LCF) 20th Corporate Social Responsibility Conference and Expo on July 7, Mr. Pascual said: “Let’s reimagine our country as a group of prosperous and collectively resilient local areas from north to south. This is both geographic diversification and de-risking of our economic engine.”
“If we want a better national future, we have to go town by town, city by city, province by province, region by region, and that’s the only way we can be assured nobody is left behind,” Mr. Pascual added.
The plan will be elaborated on in a National Competitiveness Program seeking tailored solutions for various regions and urban centers.
In his closing remarks at the Expo, Mr. Pascual urged companies to make corporate social responsibility (CSR) more of a core activity and said they can learn much from the efforts exerted by civil society in addressing the needs of the poor, “The creativity of the private sector would help companies to integrate social responsibility into their main line of business. Civil society is a vibrant sector (with extensive) experience in designing and implementing programs that fight poverty.”
“Together we want to live a secure and comfortable life. Beyond the Filipinos’ wishes for their own families, their vision for the country is collective prosperity and justice for all. Their vision of prosperity is rooted in a keen awareness of poverty and its harshness,” he added.
The LCF, founded in 1991, is a network of the 91 largest operating and grant-making corporate foundations and corporations. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
