DTI says P239-B worth of investment projects now in implementation phase
MANILA— The Department of Trade and Industry said Sunday that $4.349 billion (about P239 billion) worth of investment projects under the Marcos administration are now in the implementation stage.
Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. directed him to ensure that the investment pledges are followed through.
“The President’s marching order is to intensify follow-up to ensure that the investment will be carried out by those who promised to send here or those who will invest in our country,” Pascual said in a press statement.
Of these investment projects, a total of $29.712 billion, or P1.7 trillion, are in the form of Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) and Letters of Intent (LOI).
A total of $28.863 billion, or P1.5 trillion, worth of investment projects are now in the planning stages.
Marcos earlier announced that his administration has secured approximately $62.926 billion, or P3.48 trillion from his trips to China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the United States, and Belgium.
Pascual likewise assured the public that the Marcos administration is stepping up efforts to make it easier to put up or renew businesses in the Philippines.
“We will make sure that the enabling
environment is in order, those that need to be done quickly [such as] obtaining permits, obtaining licenses will be expedited. Because of things like that, when there is a delay, our investors are turned off, so we need to fix it,” he said.
“Especially at the time when the construction products are being implemented, there should be no delay. Entry of imported equipment must also be quickly released from our pier by the Bureau of Customs,” he added.
As of February 9, the DTI-Board of Investments has approved P414.3 billion in total investment projects.
Earlier, Marcos said he believes it is “only a matter of time” before ordinary Filipinos start feeling the effects of economic growth as he welcomed the DTI’s move to approve P414 billion in the first 40 days of 2023.
This amount accounts for more than 40% of the P1-trillion investment target for the year.
Pascual, who chairs the BOI, revised the bureau’s investment approval targets from P1 trillion to P1.5 trillion this year.
On Thursday, Marcos issued an executive order establishing a “green lane” for strategic investments in government offices to attract more foreign investments.