THE FISCAL Incentives Review Board (FIRB) has approved the application for tax incentives of 25 projects with a combined investment capital of P287.7 billion in the first year of the Marcos administration, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.
“These are expected to generate around 24,617 jobs in telecommunications, data centers, manufacturing, infrastructure, tourism, hospitals, mass housing, energy, and information technology and business process management (IT-BPM),” Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said in a press chat in Pasay City on Friday.
Data from the DoF also showed that incentives granted from June 30, 2022 to July 28, 2023 were worth P29.97 billion.
Tax incentives ranged from duty exemptions on importation, value-added tax zero-rating on local purchases, and income tax holidays, among others.
The FIRB granted incentives for two major telecommunication infrastructure projects, one worth P147 billion by Unity Digital Infrastructure, Inc. and another worth P36 billion by LBS Digital Infrastructure Corp.
It also approved incentives for energy projects by Enovate Motors Corp. (P16 billion), Century Summit Carrier, Inc. (P15.8 billion), and Century Peak Energy Corp. (P7.6 billion).
Other projects include data centers by Evolution Data Centres Philippines, Inc. (P9.7 billion) and Digital Edge Philippines, Inc. (P5.4 billion).
The FIRB also approved projects involved in manufacturing, mass housing, health, and tourism.
Meanwhile, Mr. Diokno, who accompanied President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on a state visit to Malaysia last week, said Malaysian investors and firms are still concerned over the high power costs and difficulty of doing business in the Philippines.
“If you want to set up a power plant, you need at least 65 permits from the National Government to (local government). We have tried to streamline,” he said.
Mr. Diokno also said that investors are awaiting the passage of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Act.
“That has passed the House already. We expect that to be passed by the Senate before the end of the year,” he added.
In December, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading the PPP Act. It aims to create a more enabling environment for PPP partnerships. — L.M.J.C.Jocson
