Targeting to further boost economic growth in the Bicol region, various firms, business organizations, and local leaders pledged to invigorate the investment promotion and generation in the entire Bicol Region during another leg of the roadshow on the 2022 Strategic Investments Priority Plan (SIPP), held in Naga City, Camarines Sur recently (October 4, 2022).
Significantly, the roadshow was well-attended with hundreds of participants. In her opening remarks, Naga City Vice Mayor Cecilia de Asis pointed out that the roadshow was an opportune moment for the firms and business chambers to be in the loop about the important features of the SIPP.
“This is a very timely and highly needed initiative, as we are starting to bounce back from the disrupting effect of the pandemic,” she said. “The city government of Naga highly supports this initiative to assist and better position our industry players for more growth and development,” she added. The Vice Mayor emphasized that the city government will support all the endeavors that the BOI is undertaking to boost investments in the Bicol region.
On behalf of Regional Director Rodrigo M. Aguilar of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 5, Mr. Jay Percival S. Ablan, DTI Provincial Director in Camarines Sur, stressed the importance of investments in business and economy, as investments are “inevitable, essential and significant in business, economy and nation building.”
“Region 5 endeavors to market our region for foreign investments and to pour money into its economy. Yes, we are still amid the pandemic, but we are recovering and bouncing back. This is the best time to promote our respective provinces, cities, and municipalities,” he said, hoping that linkages and networking will follow after the roadshow to spark investment opportunities in the region.
Meanwhile, the Regional Economic Outlook presentation by Atty. Gieza R. Esparraguerra of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Region V discussed the economic situation and outlook of the Bicol region. For consecutive years, from 2018 to 2019, the region had been the fastest-growing economy in the country but with the pandemic, the economy contracted by 8.3 percent in 2020 from positive growth of 8.2 percent in 2019.
But the opening of the economy pushed the growth to 4.3 percent in 2021. “This is an indication of hope that we are recovering and will thrive again,” she said, presenting that the region is still a services-driven economy. According to Atty. Esparraguerra, the employment rate improved significantly with a 62.3 percent labor forces participation rate as of April 2022, which is higher than last year’s 60.1 percent, owing to the continuous opening of the country’s economy.
Bicol region’s inflation climbed to five percent in June 2022 because of the rising prices of oil in the global market and the weakening of the Philippine peso against the US dollar. In addition, the NEDA official also emphasized the crucial role of the micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the country’s economy.
The overall goal, she added, is to reinvigorate job creation and poverty reduction by steering the economy back to its high-growth path to create more quality and green jobs for Bicolanos. MSMEs play a vital role and the SIPP is aligned with the development plan we will be having. MSMEs should stand united to attain their goals. “There is magic in your togetherness, and you can find meaning beyond profit,” she said.
ANSWERING QUERIES: The panelists from the Board of Investments (BOI), led by Director Raquel B. Echague of the Resource-Based Industries Service (RBIS), responded to the questions from the participating firms during the Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP) Roadshow in Naga City on October 4, 2022.
Notably, Director Raquel B. Echague of the Resource-Based Industries Service (RBIS), through her comprehensive presentation, discussed the salient features of the recently approved SIPP. The SIPP, deemed effective on June 11 this year, contains a list of priority activities for investment promotion and facilitation and a menu of incentives provided under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act.
“The menu of incentives will improve competitiveness. We want the country to be included in the global value chain. Hence, we align the SIPP with the Philippine long-term aspirations and vision,” Director Echague said, explaining that Tier 1 projects are the activities under the 2020 IPP unless specifically included in Tier 2 or Tier 3. Also, Tier 2 are activities that fill the gaps in the value chain and import-substituting, while Tier 3 are activities that promote innovation, R & D, and technology.
In addition, the SIPP categorizes activities into industry tiers. The Director also added that the criteria for priority determination take into account any of the following criteria: substantial amounts of investments, considerable generation of employment, a considerable amount of exports, use of modern, new, and advanced tech, addressing links and gaps in the supply/value chain, and promotion of market competitiveness
The presentation was followed by an open forum, wherein the BOI team led by Director Echague, together with Atty. Ryan Perez, Ms. Florence Lorenzo, Ms. Jane Salgado, and Ms. Marry Rose Maniebo-Vegas fielded a slew of questions from the participants. After the open forum, the participants were given more time to ask questions to the BOI panelists through the one-on-one consultation about the BOI registration.
Representing the business sector from the Bicol region, Mr. Ferdinand D. Sia, Regional Governor of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Region V, responded to the BOI’s presentation by underscoring the commitment of the business sector to make investment opportunities happen in the region with the help of the BOI.
“This is a very informative event. It is very vital na ang business sector na mag-participate for the government to draft policies na talagang kailangan natin [The business sector must participate for the government to draft policies that we need]. Hopefully, this is not the last,” he said, expressing his optimism that all chambers of commerce in the Bicol region will link with the DTI so that businesses can be assisted.
Furthermore, Ms. Jean Traballo of the BOI Domestic Investment Promotion Service said the BOI will continue to cooperate with the private sector to make business opportunities happen in the region and spark its economic activities again. “We will work harder lagi po tayong magtutulungan [we will always help each other out],” she said.