The business advisory council to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is urging faster digitisation of government services and a fundamental overhaul of infrastructure approvals as part of a pragmatic approach to tackling corruption and inefficiencies in the Philippine bureaucracy.
Sabin M. Aboitiz, lead convenor of the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) and CEO of Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) , laid out the council’s reform priorities during the “Investment Forum,” as part of the Cebu Business Month (CBM 2025) event held at Nustar Cebu, Wednesday.
Addressing concerns raised by co-Cebuano entrepreneur Bunny Pages over persistent corruption and concentration of wealth, Aboitiz signalled that the council’s strategy hinges on solution-driven policymaking rather than broad accusations.
“We haven’t told the President directly that corruption exists, but we know he’s aware and committed to addressing it,” Aboitiz said. “Our focus is on actionable reforms—digitisation is one of the most effective structural tools to reduce corruption.”
According to Aboitiz center to the council’s agenda is the proposed E-Governance Act, which would mandate digital transformation across all government agencies under a fixed timeline.
The bill aims to enhance transparency and reduce bureaucratic discretion—widely seen as a key driver of rent-seeking behavior.
“Digitization removes layers of manual processing, which is where most inefficiencies and opportunities for corruption thrive,” Aboitiz said. “With the right systems in place, we can reduce human discretion, improve accountability, and deliver services faster.”
PSAC, composed of 32 chief executives across various industries, meets regularly with President Marcos and key cabinet officials. Aboitiz underscored that the council avoids presenting issues without offering corresponding policy solutions.
“It’s not helpful to simply highlight problems. We aim to bring forward recommendations grounded in industry experience and field data.”
Beyond digitisation, Aboitiz also flagged the need to streamline approvals for nationally significant infrastructure projects, particularly in the energy and logistics sectors.
PSAC is pushing for regulatory reforms that would bypass local government unit (LGU) approvals for projects deemed critical to national development—such as transmission lines.
“If you’re building a national transmission line and have to secure approvals from every LGU it crosses, delays are inevitable,” he said, adding that removing that layer for national projects is essential to reduce friction and prevent localised rent-seeking.
This approach marks a shift in how the private sector engages with government—moving from passive advocacy to more direct policy collaboration, Aboitiz added.
CebuBusinessNews.ph
