Days before President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. delivers his performance report, the leadership of the House of Representatives on Friday said the surge in investment pledges in the first quarter of the year is a clear “vote of confidence” in the Philippine economy’s potential and validates the soundness of government policies.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez issued the statement after reports showed that investment approvals more than tripled in the first semester buoyed by pledges from abroad.
At P698 billion, the planned investments were 203 percent higher than the year-earlier P230 billion, according to the Board of Investments.
“It is a clear vote of confidence in the Philippine economy’s potential and prospects and affirms the soundness of the economic and fiscal policies of President Bongbong Marcos geared towards the attainment of his vision to bring our country to upper-middle income status by 2025,” Romualdez said.
“Likewise, this development signals that the world is responding positively to the President’s vigorous campaign to promote the Philippines as a prime destination for investment and a recognition of our steadfast pursuit of sustainable and inclusive growth,” he added.
He cited the statement of Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual, who said, “the Philippines is poised to become Asia’s premier investment destination.”
However, Romualdez said it is incumbent upon the government to capitalize on this positive momentum to ensure that these pledges translate to actual investments and ultimately provide tangible benefits to the Filipino people.
“We must continue to work hand-in-hand with the private sector to create an enabling environment that fosters job creation, economic diversification, and innovation,” Romualdez said.
Romualdez reiterated the commitment of the House to prioritize legislation geared toward the realization of the President’s vision to greatly improve the Philippine economy, reduce the prices of commodities, and increase the purchasing power of every Filipino citizen.
He earlier vowed swift action from the House of Representatives by the start of the 2nd Regular Session of the 19th Congress to pass the new set of priority bills agreed upon by the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) before the year ends.
The House had approved 33 out of the 42 priority measures of the Marcos administration by the end of the 1st Regular Session of the 19th Congress.
“It is through collaborative efforts between the legislative and executive branches that we can solidify the Philippines’ position as a preferred investment destination in the region,” he said.
According to the BOI report, the 155 projects involved in the investment pledges were also 43 percent more compared to the 106 recorded in January-June 2022. It added that a total of 29,965 jobs will be generated if all pledges materialize, 96 percent higher year-on-year.
German firms committed to invest P393 billion, followed by those from Singapore (P16.8 billion), the Netherlands (P3.57 billion), France (P2.04 billion) and the United States (P1.9 billion).
The Western Visayas (Region 6) will benefit the most with P306 billion in planned investments. Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) is next with P164 million, followed by Ilocos (P55.5 billion), Central Luzon (P28.7 billion) and Metro Manila (P25.6 billion).
A little over three-fourths, or 76.83 percent, of the investment approvals involve renewable energy with 30 solar, wind and biomass projects worth P536.5 billion. Eight information and technology projects, meanwhile, account for P95.5 billion of the total.
The first half of the year momentum, according to BOI, put the agency on track to meeting this year’s investment approval target of P1.5 trillion.
Image credits: AP/Markus Schreiber
