ÒõAPPµ¼º½ is a member of the JFC: What is the JFC?
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- The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) is an informal group of foreign business associations in the Philippines
- The group has no legal status as a corporate entity
- The JFC members are foreign business associations registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the Philippines
Who are current members of the JFC?
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- American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc. (AmCham)
- Australia-New Zealand Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc. (ANZCham)
- Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc (ÒõAPPµ¼º½)
- European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Inc. (ECCP)
- Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines, Inc. (JCCPI)
- Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines, Inc. (KCCP)
- Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters, Inc. (PAMURI)Ìý
What are the criteria to be JFC member?
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- There are no formal criteria for membership
- In practice JFC members are foreign chambers of commerce associated with advanced industrialized countries that are also members of the OECD
- European national chambers of commerce are represented by the ECCP and not members of JFC in their own right
- New memberships are by invitation and agreement of all JFC current members
What are the main activities of JFC?
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- Sharing information about business activities, conditions, and concerns
- Advocating shared positions with relevant government and other agencies
- Arranging joint business networking events
- Planning and implementing joint business-related projects
How are JFC business meetings conducted?
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- The Presidents and Executive Directors of JFC members meet monthly
- There is no elected chair or continuing secretary for the monthly meetings
- The responsibility to Chair a monthly meeting, to prepare the agenda, and to record minutes is rotated amongst all members in alphabetic order
Do JFC members all have the same business interests and priorities?
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- The interests, concerns and priorities of JFC members differ
- In some cases interests, concerns and priorities may overlap and be shared by all
- In other cases these may be concerned by some members but not by others
- There are very few instances when JFC members have had opposing positions
- Usually the JFC member with a specific interest will lead the JFC on that issue with other members supporting
Are advocacy positions supported unanimously by all JFC members?
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- Advocacy positions may be proposed by any JFC member to the group
- One member prepares the proposed position, consults with all other members, and presents as a proposed JFC position to be signed by all the JFC Presidents
- To be considered a JFC position, it has to be supported by at least five of the seven JFC members
- If one or two members do not support the position supported by at least five members, this dissent is referred to the JFC position
- JFC members can … and do … also present their advocacy positions unilaterally
Who is the spokesperson for JFC positions and for questions by the media?
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- There is no officially designated spokesperson for the JFC
- If a spokesperson is deemed necessary for a specific issue or position, one of the Presidents of a JFC member is asked to be spokesperson for that question or issue
Who represents the JFC at official government hearings and consultations?
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- JFC is usually represented by a small group from two or three of the JFC members including at least one President who will be the lead speaker with others supporting
- Formal JFC written positions are also submitted with these signed by all JFC Presidents
Does JFC cooperate with Philippine national business groups?
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- JFC cooperates in advocacy work of Philippine groups with common interests
- Where there is a common interest, JFC usually prefers the Philippine business group to lead
Does JFC endorse political parties and/or candidates that are pro-business?
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- JFC does not endorse political parties and/or candidates
- JFC may support pro-business policies propose by a political party or candidate
- The JFC does not take positions on policies that are unrelated to business
Who pays for JFC activities?
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- JFC receives no direct financial support from any government
- Salary and expense costs of officers and professional staff of JFC members engaged in JFC activities are paid by the applicable individual JFC members
- JFC raises the revenue it needs during a year to support its activities by charging a fee for attendance of its major business networking events
- The cost of non-project activities are paid using revenue raised with the networking events with no additional cost to JFC members
- The cost of most major projects is shared amongst members with each member paying a fixed minimum plus an added contribution proportionate to membership revenue of the member
Who manages and controls JFC funds?
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- As JFC has no independent corporate status, it does cannot maintain a JFC account
- As agreed with JFC, ÒõAPPµ¼º½ maintains a separate account for the JFC
- All JFC revenue is credited to and payments made from this separate account
- The JFC account is kept separate from ÒõAPPµ¼º½â€™s own accounts
- The JFC account audited as part of the annual audit of ÒõAPPµ¼º½â€™s accounts
ÌýSummarized by ÒõAPPµ¼º½ May 3, 2014