Following the Board approval and publication of the 2017 Investments Priorities Plan (IPP) Guidelines, the Philippine Board of Investments (BOI) has started conducting IPP Roadshows in key regions and cities all over the country to inform and promote to the various stakeholders the salient features of the new IPP.
The first roadshow kicked off today (July 14, 2017) at the Philippine Trade Training Center with stakeholders from the National Capital Region, Regions 4A and 4B as attendees.
The rest of the regional roadshows will be conducted in Cebu City for Region VII on July 21, 2017. The tentative dates for the other Roadshows meanwhile are: July 28 – Clark (Region III), August 4 – Baguio City (CAR and Region II), August 11 -La Union (Region I), August 17 – Tacloban (Region VIII), August 25 – Legaspi City (Region V), September 1 – Cagayan De Oro (Region X and CARAGA), September 6 – Davao City (Region XI), September 22 – Iloilo (Region VI), September 29 – Zamboanga (Region IX), and October 6 – General Santos (Region XII).
“The 2017 IPP serves as blueprint in guiding local and foreign investors in matching their entrepreneurial and financial capacities with the identified opportunities to steer the country’s economic growth to a broader and sustainable path. It aspires to maintain the Philippines’ competencies while developing sectors with potential for inclusive growth by connecting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to the global value chain,” said Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo.
The IPP is a list of priority investment activities that may be given incentives. With the theme “Scaling Up and Dispersing Opportunities,” the 2017 IPP brings forth significant additions and changes, following the President’s Zero + 10-point Socio Economic Agenda, the aspirations embodied in AmbisyonNatin 20140, and the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022.
The new IPP has a broadened coverage to encourage and attract new capital in sectors and regions and address the inequality of growth and employment. New priority activities for the 2017 IPP are: Innovation Drivers, to underscore the important role of research and development, innovation ecosystems and infrastructures in modernizing our economy, which includes commercialization of Department of Science and Technology or government-funded research and development; and Inclusive Business Models for agribusiness and tourism which fosters income and business opportunities for the poor or low-earners of society by integrating them into the supply chain of medium or large companies.
Other activities were strategically modified to stimulate a more prosperous and inclusive economic development. From a select handful of activities under the manufacturing sector, the 2017 IPP includes all manufacturing activities including agro-processing, since the sector can generate higher employment, income and output multipliers relative to other sectors.
Agriculture, fishery, and forestry includes the development of forest plantations in private lands and also promotes food irradiation projects to improve the safety and extend the shelf life of our food.
Strategic Services includes IT and IT-related services geared for the domestic market, digital or technological startups, telecommunications to make the service more competitive, and state-of-the-art engineering, procurement, and construction to support infrastructure and manufacturing projects. Healthcare services now includes Drug Rehabilitation Centers to support the President’s program against illegal drugs.
Mass Housing no longer allows projects located within Metro Manila, and are only based on a price ceiling of Php 2 Million. However, it now includes in-city Low-cost housing for lease to encourage developers to build leasable housing units nearby areas where people work.
Infrastructure and Logistics were integrated with PPP Projects that also includes projects initiated by LGUs to encourage infrastructure development in the local level.
Other inclusions under this sector are: overseas shipping, pipeline for oil and gas, training/learning facilities, testing laboratories, domestic industrial zones, and tollways. Environment or climate change-related projects encourages investments on manufacturing products or establishing facilities that would lead to the efficient use of energy, raw materials, or minimize pollution. It includes green ship recycling and the establishment of privately owned materials recovery facilities. Energy has been included to support the power requirements for the rapid economic development of the country.
As in previous IPPs, the new IPP includes export activities, projects under special laws and activities under the ARMM List. The 2017 IPP also liberalized some of the requirements in its policies to improve the ease of doing business and advocate more MSMEs to register.
Formulated through a participative, analytical, and multi-sector process, the new IPP is expected to generate more investments to strengthen manufacturing resurgence and create more jobs as targeted in the PDP 2017-2022.
BOI-approved investments grew 20.4 percent in 2016, reaching P441.8 Billion from the P366.7 Billion registered in 2015. This is the second highest since 2000, with the highest registered in 2013 at P466 Billion. The 20.4 percent growth also exceeded the agency’s 7 percent growth target for 2016.
The President approved the 2017 IPP on 28 February 28, 2017 which became effective on 18 March 2017. Same with its predecessor, the 2014 IPP, the 2017 IPP is a three-year rolling plan to ensure continuity, consistency and predictability. It is subject to annual review for effective implementation.