‘Second is for the fair-trade and consumer protection to also modernize our equipment and get more people to do the actual catching, monitoring, and enforcing, as we are now also mandated to monitor prices of rice.’

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is requesting that lawmakers allocate its budget, specifically for international trade and foreign investment promotion.

“How can we get foreign investors to come in if they don’t know what the programs are that we have or what we can offer to these foreign investors. We really need to do marketing because our Southeast Asian neighbors are really marketing their countries,” Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said in an ambush interview during the 2025 Coconut Trade Fair in SM Megamall.

She said the DTI, including its attached agencies, is requesting P12.4 billion for the 2026 National Expenditure Program and seeking an additional P2 billion for investment promotions and marketing, as well as sending their personnel for roadshows, “because we want the trillion peso-business but we need money also to get more.”

“Second is for the fair-trade and consumer protection to also modernize our equipment and get more people to do the actual catching, monitoring, and enforcing, as we are now also mandated to monitor prices of rice,” she explained.

Furthermore, the DTI chief stated that part of the additional budget for the agency will be allocated to promoting and developing micro, small, and medium enterprises, which require further support, including trade shows.

P10-B proposal

At the House of Representatives budget hearing last week, Roque presented the DTI’s 2026 NEP budget request of P9.951 billion for the Office of the Secretary and its attached agencies, namely the Board of Investments, Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines, Cooperative Development Authority, Design Center of the Philippines and the Philippine Trade Training Center.

Hence, its other attached corporations, namely its lending arm Small Business Corporation, seek P1.5 billion; Aurora Pacific Economic Zone asks for P262.45 million, and the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions asks for P711.37 million.

Last year, the DTI sought a total of P10.599 billion for the 2025 NEP.

Roque said the DTI may not have a hard time convincing House and Senate lawmakers for additional budget for such efforts, as the number of foreign direct investments continues to pile up.

“The numbers show that we are growing in terms of FDI, and exports grow by 26.5 percent. We have the numbers for that,” she said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that total Foreign Investments approved in the second quarter of 2025 reached P67.38 billion, representing a 64.4 percent decline compared to the P189.50 billion recorded in the same period in 2024.