CAR investment viability discussed in BOI roadshow
INCLUSIVITY, ease of doing business, incentives as well as investments in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) were emphasized during the Board of Investments ( BOI) Regional Roadshow: 2017 Investments Priorities Plan (IPP).
The 2017 IPP with a theme, “Scaling Up and Dispersing Opportunities,” was presented by BOI Board of Governors member Lucita Reyes.
According to Reyes, the 2017 IPP eyes a propoor approach which includes all types of businesses from small and micro enterprises to large businesses.
“We start small but we can grow big,” Reyes said adding investments in areas outside of Metro Manila are encouraged by giving incentives to investors in order to help less developed areas with employment opportunities.
The purpose of the IPP, according to Reyes, is to familiarize the local government units with the areas that BOI incentivize. Reyes said this is in hopes the investments will “address issues of unemployment and let other areas outside of Manila to develop.”
According to Reyes, as of now, 24 out of 77 municipalities in CAR have Negosyo centers that will help welcome all kinds of businesses.
“Kung hindi ka magbibigay ng incentives, patay ka,” Baguio City Mayor and Regional Development Council Chairman Mauricio Domogan said. Domogan added
“we need massive investment to catch up with the time and provide employment.”
Pioneer incentives are offered to companies that invest in some Cordillera areas. Income Tax Holidays are also offered to companies that provide ‘modernization of skills’ according to Reyes.
“The people are the competitive edge so we have to make sure the skills of the people will be enhanced,” added Reyes
The BOI also seeks to facilitate ease of doing business by streamlining government procedure. Shortening of processing and removing the requirement of prior BOI approval for the ordering of capital equipment, as well as online registration of businesses are part of this effort.
Reyes added state-ofthe-art infrastructures are also part of the BOI strategies to attract investors. Domogan added better and more infrastructures in the Cordillera are needed in order to facilitate ease of trade among Cordillera provinces, municipalities, and city.
The mayor also clarified although the 2017 IPP may attract large company investors, this will not kill local businesses and the IPP is important in helping other areas of the CAR develop. Housing projects, for example, not be concentrated in Baguio alone, he said. Vegetable industries in the Cordillera will also be developed and sustained through the efforts of the 2017 IPP. Jenny Alexis Caburian/UP Baguio Intern