Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Enunina Mangio said jams remain in government processes, thus, they are urging for the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to continue strides in pushing reforms in ease of doing business.

Mangio welcomed the recent pronouncement of the Cabinet-level Fiscal Incentives Review Board to bring the investment capital threshold to P15 billion for projects assigned to Investment Promotion Agencies such as the Board of Investments and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, in a bid to promote the ease of doing business in the country.

The FIRB earlier ruled that the revised threshold is aligned with the Public-Private Partnerships Code of the Philippines, which states that PPP projects with a cost of P15 billion or higher shall be approved by the inter-agency National Economic and Development Board upon favorable recommendation of the Investment Coordination Committee.

Streamline processes

“One of the bottlenecks we have in government is in the ease of doing business. We need to streamline our processes and policies, so we become an attractive investment destination,” Mangio said, adding that the Philippines needs to catch up with its ASEAN neighbors that have progressed fast over the last 10 years.

The PCCI earlier identified some of the major industries that the organization deems ideal and attractive for local and foreign investments and which could amplify economic growth and competitiveness of the country. These sectors include agribusiness, IT-BPO and creative industries, manufacturing, mining and mineral resources and tourism.

Mangio underscored that her organization supports the recent issuance of FIRB. “This would mean more projects will have to be decided quickly at the IPA level without going through the approval of FIRB, which became the bottleneck for incentives,” she said.

The PCCI head said her organization hopes that such a policy will encourage more investors, both local and foreign, to infuse their resources and get involved with big-ticket government projects through PPP.

Vital role

The Department of Finance on Monday cited the FIRB’s swift action in improving the Philippines’ global competitiveness, as IPAs play a vital role in attracting more productivity-enhancing investments to the country.

Finance Secretary and FIRB chairperson Ralph Recto said his agency will continue to support the IPAs by acting fast on measures that will further promote ease of doing business and cultivate an investment-friendly climate.

Under the previous set-up, IPAs were responsible for approving incentives for projects with investment capital below P1 billion, while the FIRB was tasked with selecting tax perks for projects exceeding P1 billion, as mandated by the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises or CREATE Law.