MANILA: Presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr should have a “more inclusive” economy, presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said yesterday.

Concepcion said that the economy under the succeeding administration should likewise focus on micro and small businesses, not just corporations.

“Under the administration of president Marcos, we hope to see that this economy will become more inclusive,” he said on ABS-CBN News Channel’s Rundown.

“That’s my role - to see that we are able not just make this economy for large and medium-sized corporations, but a more inclusive economy that will include our micro and small entrepreneurs,” he stressed.

According to Concepcion, the next administration should prioritise job generation as many businesses struggled during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“He had a clear vision. He knew that the micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs generate the largest employment and many of them are struggling due to this pandemic,” the adviser said.

“It’s very clear that job generation should be at the top of the agenda of this administration - helping our MSMEs to financing, more financing, mentorship, and helping them access the market,” he explained.

The private sector is keen on seeing Marcos’ economic agenda, as they wanted to get the details of what awaits under the upcoming administration, investors said.

Marcos is set to address the large debt that the country got due to borrowings to finance the government’s Covid-19 response.

The Philippines’ outstanding debt reached a new high of 12.68 trillion pesos in March, the Bureau of the Treasury said. Marcos won a landslide in elections on May 9, according to unofficial results.

 - ANN