The Marcos administration plans to approve P1 trillion in investment projects next year, and the Board of Investments (BOI) plans to register investment approvals at a trillion-peso level for three consecutive years.
Under the National Expenditure Program (NEP) 2025, the BOI is considering lowering investment pledges next year from its 2024 NEP target of P1.151 trillion.
During the Wednesday of Trade and Industry's (DTI) House Committee on Appropriations budget briefing, DTI undersecretary and BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said some constraints needed to be addressed to continue attracting investments, especially from foreign sources, into the country.
He cited challenges that investors often cite during their investment missions, which include ease of doing business, power, talent development, and incentives.
Rodolfo said one of the government's initiatives to ease doing business in the country is establishing green lanes to expedite the issuance of permits and licenses for strategic projects.
However, Rodolfo said that in the future, all sectors should be able to access faster processing of requirements related to starting a business.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s focus on harnessing indigenous energy resources will help address the country's high power costs.
The shift to renewables will also help reduce electricity rates, as it will make the country less dependent on imported fuel.
Rodolfo also looks at talent development as both a constraint and an opportunity for the country to prepare the domestic workforce for the emerging jobs and skills needed in the future.
The DTI has also engaged with stakeholders in the private sector, the academe, and other government agencies to upskill and reskill the current talent pool.
Moreover, Rodolfo said neighboring countries are becoming more generous in providing incentives to foreign investors, making it challenging for the Philippines to attract these investments.
"Just to give you an example, Vietnam in March of this year has issued a directive that for strategic projects, for priority projects, they are giving a free lease of land plus reimbursement for land clearance expenses of those developing their industrial estate," he said.
Rodolfo added attracting foreign investments into the country will help build domestic industries and create more jobs for Filipinos.
Building local industries and facilitating technology transfer will help the Philippines become less dependent on imports and narrow the country's trade deficit.
In 2023, the Philippine merchandise trade deficit stood at $52.59 billion.
"What this means is even if we're the fastest growing economy in the region, much of the growth is being met by importation," Rodolfo said.
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Meanwhile, the BOI gets 6% of DTI's budget for next year, which is more than P600 million.
The BOI is the country's top investment promotion agency, with the most significant investment approvals.
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