VP Binay’s meeting with businessmen ‘very positive,’ says exec

“I think the Vice President gave us a very good idea of the platforms that he will have if he becomes president.”

This was what Wallace Business Forum founder Peter Wallace told reporters when he emerged from the closed-door conference at Makati Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City on Thursday, where Vice President Jejomar Binay spoke before business executives.

Noting that businessmen like him were also monitoring what was happening in the country, Wallace said Binay’s meeting with them was a “very positive” one.

“What’s really critical today is what we expect in the next six years after this administration, and so we are trying to meet each of the potential candidates. And I think today was a very positive meeting,” he said.

Wallace said Binay assured them that he will continue the efficient policies of the incumbent administration while incorporating his own changes.

“For me one of the most important thing is how he will revive responsible mining. And this has been one of my greatest disappointments with this administration,” he said. “He did focus also on the importance of infrastracture. He was keen on the department of information and communications technology, which I have been pushing for a long time.”

Citing a need to bring in more money and technology in the country, Wallace said the Vice President also vowed to open up the Philippines to more foreign investments.

“We need more competition within businesses,” he added.

But Wallace said Binay did not ask for their support or endorsement in the upcoming 2016 national elections, adding the Vice President only laid out his platforms of government.

READ: Graft-facing Binay vows to continue admin’s anticorruption drive | Binay paints picture of ‘presidency’

“Whoever is running will get my support if they basically agree with the policies that I have in mind, but, more importantly, if they will work to get them down. The thing that I need to see more of is things happening,” Wallace said.

“The PPP (public-private partnership) program under this administration took a long time before it get started. So I want the next administration to keep the momentum and to accelerate it,” he added.

Asked about the corruption allegations being hurled against Binay, Wallace said they sticked to business and policies as they “didn’t want to get involved in politics.”

“I will take this thing with a grain of salt. Nothing has been proven yet. It’s unfair to make a judgment,” Wallace said.

“Makati has been built by businessmen but I think he supported it quite well … He said what we really need is a good manager. And he’s absolutely right. You don’t need to be technically expert, but you do need to have that managerial skill, that leadership skill to do a good job,” he added. Yuji Vincent Gonzales/RC