The Philippine Board of Investments (BOI), the industry development and investments promotion arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), signed recently (February 9, 2018) a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the City Government of Cabuyao strengthening the collaboration between the two agencies in attracting more investments and promoting ease of doing business in the country.

A first BOI MOA with a local government unit (LGU), the agreement provides for the BOI and Cabuyao City to strengthen its coordination and establish cooperation in promoting ease of doing business including the streamlining of processes such as setting up a business in the country.

Under the MOA, the BOI will promote the City as a premier investment destination by providing potential investors with relevant information on City’s priority investment areas. The Cabuyao government on the other hand will authorize the BOI in facilitating business and/or investments applications and follow-ups as needed.

Photo shows Assistant Secretary Fe Agoncillo-Reyes (second from left) in a handshake with Cabuyao City Mayor Rommel Gecolea (middle) after the MOA signing at the BOI Building. Joining them were (from left to right): BOI Chief Investments Specialist Edilberto C. Nunag, BOI Executive Director for Investment Assistance Center Raul V. Angeles and PESO Manager of Cabuyao City Cooperative and Livelihood Development Officer Christian Benedict T. Bueno.

Assistant Secretary Fe Agoncillo Reyes who represented Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo in the ceremonial signing said, “the MOA is a welcome development as this undertaking further complements the agency’s various initiatives to strategically promote the country as an investment destination of choice and generate the much-needed employment for Filipinos”.

Cabuyao City Mayor Rommel A. Gecolea who signed the MOA for the City on the other hand said, “Napakagandang pagkakataon nito (MOA), kasi kung mapangungunahan natin ito, madami na ding gagawa nito. Nangahas kaming makipagugnayan sa BOI, sapagkat naniniwala ako na ang susi sa kaunlaran ay investments, sa tulong ng BOI. Kami ang first, pero sana mas marami pang sumunod.” (“This MOA is a great opportunity because as soon as we start our collaboration, the other LGUs will also do the same. We decided to get in touch with the BOI because I believe that the key to prosperity is investments, with the help of BOI. We are the first, but I hope other LGUs will do the same.”)

During the MOA signing, Mayor Gecolea boasted the City’s initiatives to further simplify the processing of business permits with a turnaround time to just around 10 minutes—a concrete proof of the City’s efforts to be more consumer-centric and business friendly.

The MOA with Cabuyao City was a product of one of BOI’s Investment Briefings/Seminars in various regions, provinces, and municipalities in the country. Conducted by BOI through its Investment Assistance Service-Counseling and Business Requirement Division, the BOI is working on entering into similar MOAs with other LGUs where it earlier conducted investment briefings/seminars.

Region IV-A or CALABARZON is the top location for BOI registered investment projects in the past two years. In 2017, the Region recorded a total of Php294.61 million worth of investments, 187.81 percent higher than the same period in 2016. The amount is 47.78 percent of the total BOI-approved investments in 2017.

CALABARZON is also one of the fastest growing regions in the country with a gross regional domestic product growth rate of 14.8 percent in 2016, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed.