Tells DTI chief to ensure billions in project pledges are followed through
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has directed Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual to ensure that the investment pledges for projects under his administration are followed through.
“The President’s marching order is to intensify follow-up to ensure that the investment will be carried out by those who promised to… invest in our country,” Pascual said on Sunday.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said $4.349 billion (about P239 billion) worth of investment projects under the Marcos administration are now being implemented.
Of these investment projects, a total of $29.712 billion or P1.7trillion are in the form of memoranda of understanding (MOU) and letters of intent (LOI).
A total of $28.863 billion or P1.5 trillion worth of investment projects are now in the planning stages.
Marcos earlier announced that his administration has secured about $62.926 billion or P3.48 trillion from his trips to China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the United States, and Belgium.
Pascual also said the administration is stepping up its efforts to make it easier to put up or renew businesses in the Philippines.
“We will make sure that the enabling environment is in order, those that need to be done quickly [such as] obtaining permits, obtaining licenses will be expedited. Because of things like that, when there is a delay, our investors [are] turn[ed] off, so we need to fix it,” he said.
As of Feb. 9, the DTI-Board of Investments (BOI) has approved P414.3billion in total investment projects. This amount accounts for more than 40 percent of the P1 trillion investment target for the year.
Earlier, Marcos said he believes it is “only a matter of time” before ordinary Filipinos can start to feel the effects of economic growth.
Pascual, who chairs the BOI, revised the bureau’s investment approval targets from P1 trillion to P1.5 trillion this year.
On Thursday, the President issued an executive order establishing a “green lane” for strategic investments in government offices to attract more foreign investments.