Netherlands a ‘gateway’ for PHL carriers in Europe

By Andrea E. San Juan

THE Philippines sees the Netherlands as a “gateway” for Philippine airline companies to expand their operations in Europe, with the potential link between two nations to facilitate business and tourism, among others, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

DTI said Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual led the roundtable meeting on the Aerospace Sector between the Philippines and Netherlands, which the agency said was a “more focused” approach to promoting the Philippine aerospace industry following the Philippine Netherlands Business Forum conducted inDecember 2022.

T he roundtable meeting was organized by the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in collaboration with the Netherlands Aerospace Group (NAG), a trade association that supports aerospace and aviation firms in the Netherlands by facilitating networking opportunities and accessing broader markets.

W ith over 100 members, NAG represents 95 percent of the Dutch aviation industry’s revenue. Currently, their primary focus revolves around aerospace and airport development, DTI noted.

According to the Trade department, Pascual emphasized in his keynote message that the Philippine government finds the aerospace and aviation industry “significant” in the country’s pursuit of economic recovery and expansion.

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Developments in this industry do not only generate employment opportunities for Filipinos but also facilitate knowledge transfer and technological development, which, in turn, will help position the Philippines as a key player in the global market,” read the statement of DTI on Monday.

A ccording to Pascual, the Philippines is open to partnering with the Netherlands in strengthening the aviation infrastructure in both countries.

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The Netherlands has a strong aviation and aerospace infrastructure, with world-class airports, aerospace research facilities, and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services. We are open to collaborate with you in sharing expertise, promoting investments, and strengthening the aviation infrastructure in both countries, enabling us to keep up with global demands,” Pascual said.

He also sees the Netherlands as a gateway for Philippine airline companies to expand their operations in Europe, given its record as a “major European hub.” This “potential link” between the two countries, DTI said, can facilitate business and tourism travel, as well as trade and investments between the two countries.

Pascual also cited education and skills development, promotion of sustainable aviation, and the development of space technology and applications as other areas for collaboration.

W ith the Netherlands’ “renowned aerospace engineering programs and research institutions,” the Philippines “will benefit greatly from joint research projects, knowledge exchange, and training programs, building the country’s capacity in this sector,” DTI said.

Pascual also noted that the Philippines “is positioned to be the hub for manufacturing and aftermarket services in the aerospace industry including aircraft MRO and aerospace manufacturing in the Asia Pacific region.”

T he roundtable meeting was attended by Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands H.E. Jose Eduardo Malaya, DTI Undersecretary for Communications

Kim Bernardo-Lokin, Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary Mylene Capongcol, Philippine Trade and Investment Center-Brussels Commercial Counsellor Magnolia Ashley, Board of Investments Executive Director Evariste Cagatan, Director Lanie Dormiendo, NAG Managing Director Frank Jansen, IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) President Jack Madrid, and Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. President Dan Lachica.

In a separate meeting with Deputy Minister Hanneke Schuiling, Pascual underscored the potential to enhance bilateral trade relations between the Philippines and the Netherlands in semiconductor and high-technology, agri-food processing, and infrastructure.

Pascual stressed in his remarks the “significant role” of the Philippines in the Indo Pacific-Asia interface as it recently assumed the role of Country Coordinator for Asean-EU relations until 2025.

Moreover, Pascual expressed interest in the country to be the sixth priority of the Netherlands for economic cooperation, following the Asean-5 countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

SENATE President Juan Miguel Zubiri is poised to pitch an amended legislated wage hike bill when Congress reopens on July 24, this time seeking a uniform P100 daily hike for minimum wage earners, to augment the P40 ordered by the Metro Manila regional wage board last week.

Z ubiri explained that if the Congress-mandated P100 hurdles the vote, then workers would end up with P140 in total pay hikes, “which is quite close to our original proposal” of a P150 wage hike.

H is proposal for P150 had hurdled committee level before Congress adjourned sine die last June 2, but the committee chair, Sen. Jionggoy, had said last weekend his panel will still continue to hear the wage issue despite the NCR wage order for P40.

Zubiri said, in an ANC interview, that he expects support from Estrada in moving an additional salary hike, this time mandated by Congress and not the wage boards.

“ There’s no ban” stopping Congress “to come up with minimum legislated wage, or there’s no law.” He stressed, “There’s no law that bans us from actually coming up with legislated wage hikes.” The regional wage and productivity tripartite boards were created by law two decades ago and have since been mandated to determine how much wage adjustments must be made in the regions, depending on their cost of living and the ability of local businesses.

However, many quarters, including lawmakers like Zubiri, complained that regional wage boards have been slow in responding to workers’ needs. In the Monday interview, he noted that the regional bodies only started to move after several lawmakers filed bills for legislated wage hikes.

“ So what we will do,” Zubiri added, “is we approved it already at the committee level. We already approved the P150 wage increase” in the pending bill, following hearings called by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada who chairs the Committee on Labor.

“So we can work on that [so that it approximates the] P150 that we proposed from the very beginning.”

At the same time, Zubiri stressed that the P40 is barely enough to meet the needs of workers and their families from persistently high inflation the past year.

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It’s not enough. We thank the wage boards for the increase but definitely that’s not enough. P40, as mentioned in your news item earlier, cannot buy a kilo of rice because if you go around the markets, one kilo of rice is about P44 to P45 today nowadays.”

He said they have “done our research, we’ve done our interviews, and definitely we need at least P100 increase per day to make a big impact [on] the labor force, at least in Metro Manila.”

He also noted, to underscore the smallness of the P40, that the higher will be exacted “SSS, PAGIBIG , and PhilHealth” such that by the time they get their salaries ...they really don’t feel the change at all.”

Zubiri is confident that business “can afford it,” referring to higher pay. “What we need to do is increase the capacities and the happiness index of our workers,” he stressed.

NCR hike still paltry–IBON

MEANWHILE , independent think tank IBON Foundation also decried the P40 wage order, underscoring the “constant wage erosion throughout the first year of the Marcos Jr. administration.”

The amount “is also a far cry from what labor groups demand and certainly much less than what Filipino workers need and deserve,” research group IBON said. The resulting NCR wage is still far below the family living wage, it added.