Overseas investors will flee the Philippines if Congress passes a bill making it harder to hire short-term workers or lay-off employees, foreign businesses warned on Monday. Chambers of commerce representing foreign businesses including those from the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia said in a letter to Congress that passage of the bill "will discourage investments and businesses and result in the loss of jobs."
"Further, existing investors could close and move to more investment-friendly destinations in the region," the chambers said. The bill would particularly hit growing industries like agriculture, business process outsourcing and tourism, the letter warned. It includes a provision to limit the number of short-term or contractual employees firms can hire, while another requires restaurants and hotels to re-hire the same workers for any further expansion projects.
It also limits the type of subcontracting that companies can engage in, the chambers said, warning that this would hit the flexibility of their operations. "If (the bill) is passed into law, we believe the Philippines would further decline in its competitiveness in the global market. With more restrictive laws, lower foreign investment can be expected for years to come," the chambers added.