President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. seeks to develop the semiconductor and electronic industry recognizing its economic potential to the country.

In a meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council-Education and Jobs Sector Group (PSAC-EJSG) on Tuesday, Marcos cited the revenue the semiconductor industry is generating from exports.

“Actually, we really need to push the semiconductor industry. It’s because, again, it’s not something that we had in mind but the situation — considering how much money we make as the income we get from exports already,” he said.

“We really should be focusing on it more. So, let’s do that now. So, we need to hear from the industry to see what you suggest, and what we can try to incorporate,” he added.

Marcos suggested focusing on granting incentives to semiconductor locators, similar to what is being extended to other industries such as car manufacturing.

“We’ll do it through the IRR since it took us such a while to get the CREATE MORE in the first place. Maybe we can do this because it’s just another incentive scheme,” he said.

The President noted that there is nothing specific for the semiconductor industry in the CREATE MORE Act compared to other industries.

Marcos sought recommendations from key stakeholders on helping the semiconductor industry.

“So, what we would need from all of you is what you think needs to be done,” he said.

Meanwhile, the PSAC-EJSG presented to Marcos a roadmap for the country’s semiconductor and electronics industry. It also recommended creating a National Education and Workforce Development Plan.