President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. remains confident that the more than P3.48 trillion investment pledges secured during his foreign trips would materialize and subsequently generate jobs as soon as possible, a Board of Investments (BOI) official said Saturday.
At a weekly news forum in Quezon City, BOI executive director forinvestments promotion services Evariste Cagatan said the President was closely monitoring the leads to provide assistance and fast-track the foreign investors’ entry into the country.
“Investment leads pa lang iyan so marami pang kailangang gawin para tuluyang matuloy ‘yong mga pledges (These are only investment leads, so a lot still needs to be done before they materialize),” Cagatan said.
The challenges, she said, ranged from securing permits to the need for vast tracts of land and hiring employees with the right skills for their businesses.
A total of $62 billion or approximately P3.48 trillion in investment pledges was ramped up since Marcos’ first official foreign travel in 2022.
“Most of these, for example, the US trip, marami nang pumasok at na-register na natin sa BOI at PEZA,” Cagatan said.
“But you must understand that if you make the pledge today, it does not mean that it would materialize instantly. The gestation period is quite long,” she added.
While monitoring these pledges, Cagatan said the government also continues to attract local and foreign investors by positioning the country as an ideal destination to achieve their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals.
“The investors are checking where they could invest and achieve their ESG goals. That’s what we’re offering in the Philippines) we can help them and support their ESG goals because renewable energy is available here,” she said.
At the BOI alone, investment approvals from January to March reached PHP463.3 billion, up by 155 percent from the PHP181.7 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Cagatan said a large chunk of these investments is in renewables.
“(This) is 40 percent of our original target for approval for the year that is PHP1 trillion. And because we are already at that level, our target this year climbed to P1.5 trillion,” she said.