Promoting inclusive development for PH communities | The Final Word - video Dailymotion

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Several crises have set the Philippines back in its pursuit of vibrant, diverse, and resilient communities. How can companies help achieve this vision decades from now?  Ben Teehankee of the Management Association of the Philippines joins us live.  Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

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00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 - Several crises have set the Philippines back

00:09 in its pursuit of vibrant, diverse,

00:12 and resilient communities.

00:13 How can companies help achieve this vision decades from now?

00:18 Ben Tehanke of the Management Association of the Philippines

00:21 tells us more and he joins us live in our studios.

00:24 Ben, great to see you.

00:25 - Yes.

00:26 - It's been more than maybe 30 years.

00:28 - 30 years.

00:29 - I saw you at De La Salle University,

00:31 but share with us,

00:32 what is MAP's covenant for shared prosperity?

00:35 - Yeah, so first of all, great to be with you Rico.

00:38 In November 2020, the MAP realized

00:40 that if it will achieve its goals

00:42 to be the center for national development

00:45 through management, it has to help uplift everybody else.

00:48 So it joined 25 other business associations

00:51 and we released the covenant for shared prosperity,

00:54 which is really a set of commitments of businesses

00:58 to the different stakeholders of business.

01:00 - What are these commitments and targets

01:02 that MAP wants to achieve?

01:05 - Well, the commitments are to specific stakeholders.

01:07 So for example, for the employees,

01:09 MAP wants to begin the dialogue on living wage

01:13 and especially achieve upskilling and reskilling,

01:16 especially in the age of AI,

01:17 you know how we will have to struggle

01:20 to make sure our people are up to par

01:22 with the rest of the community.

01:23 For customers, we want customers to be more empowered

01:26 so that their concerns for quality products and services

01:29 are listened to by the companies.

01:32 And of course, for communities to have more engagement

01:35 from the businesses in uplifting everybody.

01:37 And the rest is true for all the other stakeholders.

01:40 - What about for the marginalized kababayans in our society?

01:44 Currently, according to government figures,

01:46 the poverty incidence rate is still

01:50 at the high double digits, 21 to 22%.

01:54 I mean, how can this shared prosperity covenant

01:58 help in further reducing that,

02:00 maybe into the low double digits or single digits?

02:04 - Well, our goal is to support the government

02:06 in bringing it below 10%.

02:08 And the only way to do that

02:09 is really to increase business activity.

02:11 But it shouldn't be business as usual.

02:13 It's not just all about growth.

02:15 It has to be growth that connects

02:17 every Filipino to that growth.

02:18 - Inclusive growth.

02:19 - Inclusive growth, which is why I mentioned earlier,

02:22 we want to begin the dialogue on living wage.

02:24 Because for the longest time,

02:26 we were really speaking only of the minimum wage, right?

02:28 But we know that the minimum wage

02:30 is barely enough to support a family.

02:32 So MAP is committed to really expanding the discussion

02:35 towards living wage, really focusing on upskilling

02:39 and reskilling our people so that they can be

02:41 more productive and supporting the community at large.

02:44 - Dialogue in living wages,

02:46 why wasn't this done in previous administrations?

02:51 Why is it only being started now

02:53 when our poverty incidence rate

02:55 has really been in the high double digits

02:58 for many decades now?

02:59 - Yeah, you know, this is a very important question.

03:01 And I think this is one of the side effects

03:04 of the pandemic, Rico.

03:06 At the height of the pandemic,

03:07 the business leaders who are working very hard

03:09 to create value in their businesses

03:11 realized that there is really no future

03:13 for business in the Philippines

03:15 unless you bring everybody else along with you.

03:17 We saw how vulnerable the Filipinos were

03:19 during the height of the pandemic.

03:21 And really this touched the hearts of our business leaders.

03:24 And they said, it cannot be business as usual.

03:26 That's why if you talk to the leadership of MAP now,

03:29 the tone has really changed

03:31 and realized that we cannot be the basket case of ASEAN,

03:35 which is going to happen unless we bring everybody else up.

03:39 - And of course, Ben, we just saw this report

03:41 that the government and the National Democratic Front

03:43 have resumed peace talks.

03:44 They want to end the arms struggle.

03:47 They want to work with government for peace and prosperity.

03:51 And this is the way to move forward.

03:54 - This is very good news for us.

03:55 As you know, Rico, we have the longest running

03:58 communist insurgency in the whole world.

04:00 And the only way to really address insurgency

04:03 is to make sure prosperity is for everyone.

04:06 - Prosperity is for everyone,

04:08 but is there also a target decade?

04:10 In how many years should we be able to resolve

04:14 this problem of inequality in our society?

04:18 - Well, we did not set a very hard target,

04:20 but it will have to be not longer than five to 10 years.

04:24 Because, you know, in the '60s,

04:26 we were the leading economy in Asia.

04:29 And one by one-- - We were number two.

04:30 - Yes. - In the 1960s.

04:32 Second to Japan. - Yes, as a matter of fact.

04:34 But then, as you've seen, in 2020,

04:36 even Vietnam has surpassed us in GDP per capita.

04:40 We're not gonna wait around until Myanmar,

04:42 Cambodia, Laos surpass us.

04:44 This is a wake-up call for us, Rico.

04:45 We have to make sure that we act sooner rather than later.

04:48 - Act sooner rather than later.

04:51 And it cannot only be in a statement, Ben.

04:55 - Definitely. - It cannot just be words.

04:57 We need actions.

04:58 There has to be a groundswell of support

05:01 among our Kababayans and all the stakeholders

05:04 to be able to achieve these goals.

05:07 - And this is what we're working on.

05:09 In fact, yesterday, we had a very important summit

05:11 at the Shang.

05:12 We called it the Shared Prosperity Summit.

05:14 And we brought together key players

05:17 among the different stakeholders,

05:19 and they made very specific recommendations

05:21 on how to really move on this going forward,

05:24 which is why I shared with you

05:25 one of the recommendations for the employees

05:27 is to really begin the discussion on living wage.

05:30 In the past, you will never see a business association

05:32 mention the living wage, Rico.

05:34 So this is really a transformative moment for us.

05:37 - And are people listening, are employers listening?

05:40 Is the political will there between the private

05:43 and the public sector to make this happen

05:46 and make it a reality?

05:48 - I think we're getting there.

05:49 We're definitely getting there.

05:50 One of our guests was Indiame Diop,

05:52 the head of the World Bank.

05:54 And they're saying that we really need to bring up

05:56 everybody in our society

05:58 if we're to achieve our competitive goals.

06:00 So it's really a matter of survival for us.

06:02 - Matter of survival, and it also has to start

06:05 from the grassroots. - Definitely.

06:07 - Especially the education in prep,

06:12 in grade school, high school, in the universities.

06:16 Everyone really has to get involved here.

06:18 - As a matter of fact, MAP is in the forefront

06:21 of dealing with the stunting issue.

06:22 As you know, the stunting issue,

06:24 the hunger among our young people

06:26 is affecting their capacity to do schoolwork.

06:29 And again, this is an area where the business leaders

06:31 realize that we have to participate and help.

06:34 Before, you would never hear a business association

06:37 getting involved in malnutrition.

06:39 But now we realize that only a well-fed group

06:41 of young people can supply business in the future.

06:44 So MAP is in the forefront of that.

06:46 - And with inclusive development,

06:48 we will see less talented and skilled Filipinos

06:52 leaving the country, and they will stay in the Philippines

06:56 and help the growth of the economy.

06:59 - It's actually an embarrassment for us

07:01 that our leading export is really human resource, Rico.

07:04 More than 10 million people are working abroad,

07:07 and our goal is to really grow the local economy

07:09 so that all of these people can come back.

07:11 We have to grow our domestic economy,

07:13 but the only way to do that is to send a signal

07:16 that our growth is inclusive.

07:18 Otherwise, people will prefer to work abroad

07:21 because they will say, "We will not be rewarded here."

07:23 And this is something we really need to reverse,

07:25 and MAP is pushing for this.

07:27 - Ben Tehanke, vice chair

07:29 of the MAP Shared Prosperity Committee.

07:32 Thank you so much for your insights.

07:33 My pleasure, Riccardo.

Promoting inclusive development for PH communities | The Final Word

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