The Department of Trade and Industry and the Board of Investments will be holding back-to-back fora on the country’s new industrial policy and the Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) 2014-2016. The two-day activity will be held on October 15-16, 2015 at The Legend Hotel, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.
The forum on October 15, “Industry Roadmaps and the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Game Plan: Regional Roadmaps for Competitiveness,” will focus on the crucial role of industrial development in the integration process of ASEAN. It will inform stakeholders about the opportunities and challenges in ASEAN. Similar fora were held in Iloilo, Cebu, and Davao last year, and this year in Baguio, Tagaytay, and Angeles cities.
A unified market
The AEC aims to establish a single market and production base with free movement of goods, services, and investments across the ten ASEAN member countries. Several presentations will raise awareness on the industries where the region has great potential to further develop and stimulate economic growth. The discussions will likewise gear toward how to position and upgrade these industries in view of the potentials and challenges arising from the AEC and EU GSP+ and the need for an industry development roadmap in the region.
Roadmap project
The DTI and the BOI launched the Industry Roadmap Project (IRP) in January 2012. The IRP continues to forge strategic partnerships with industry stakeholders, particularly the private sector in the development of industry roadmaps. To date, 35 sectoral roadmaps have been submitted to the BOI, of which, 29 roadmaps have been completed. These sectoral roadmaps are the building blocks of the Manufacturing Industry Roadmap (MIR) and the Comprehensive National Industrial Strategy.
Presentations will include the following: “The Philippine New Industrial Policy for More Competitive Regional Economies” by Dr. Rafaelita M. Aldaba, DTI Assistant Secretary; “Regional Integration and the National Development Agenda” by Ms. Ann Robeniol, USAID TRADE Project; “EU-GSP+” by Agnes Legaspi, Assistant Director of Export Management Bureau; among others. Information on the salient features of industry roadmaps on Coco Coir, Carageenan, Rubber Products and Tablea will be discussed by subject-matter experts on those areas.
Investment priorities plan
On day two, October 16, discussions will focus on the IPP 2014-2016[1] with the theme Industry development for Inclusive Growth. The forum will brief stakeholders on investment policies and specific guidelines of the IPP recently approved by the BOI Board. The IPP is a fundamental investment policy tool for industry development. It aims to build industries through policy interventions and initiatives.
Participants from various chambers of commerce, business support organizations, the academe, LGUs, representatives of various government agencies, NGOs, consumer organizations, and the media are expected to attend the fora.
– From the Department of Trade and Industry
[1] The IPP 2014-2016 is focused on eight (8) preferred economic activities (4 broad sectors and 4 specific activities), subsectors, and specific supply/value-chain gaps. These are Manufacturing, Agribusiness and Fishery, Services, Economic and Low-cost Housing, Hospitals, Energy, Public Infrastructure and Logistics, PPP Projects.
