THE Board of Investments (BoI) said it is conducting trials for a one-stop shop for investors seeking to locate in the Calabarzon region south and east of Metro Manila, in expectation of an increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows following the recent approval of laws liberalizing some industries.
BoI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo added in a recent meeting with departments involved in investment promotion that they need to better coordinate their offerings and facilitate registrations and licensing to prepare for the new wave of investment.
“With the uptick of the number of investors coming to the Philippines, it is indeed imperative for the members of the IPU (investment promotion unit) network to coordinate more closely,” Mr. Rodolfo said.
The hybrid one-stop shop for investors will be trialed in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) to jump-start the adoption of new tax incentive rules prescribed by Republic Act No. 11534 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act.
The BoI said it has been conducting training sessions with local government units (LGUs) to boost awareness of business promotion and facilitation among LGU frontliners who may be receiving investment inquiries.
Meanwhile, Anti-Red Tape Authority Deputy Director General Ernesto V. Perez said government transactions need to be digitized “to have less human intervention throughout the process when applicants submit their documents.”
Some of the members of the IPU network are the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Department of Finance (DoF).
“Since 2007, the IPU network has been committed to sustaining the government efforts in facilitating issues and concerns with prompt action, streamlining procedures, and having seamless coordination among its members to resolve all investment-related transactions with efficiency,” the BoI said.
The BoI has said that it registered P655.4 billion worth of investment approvals from 235 projects in 2021, missing the target of P905 billion. In 2022, the BoI’s target is P1 trillion worth of investment approvals. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
