Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Surigao del Norte 2nd District Representative Robert Ace Barbers on Sunday said that the approval of 41 foreign-funded projects by the Board of Investment (BOI) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will further boost the country’s recovering economy.
According to Barbers, the projects will spur growth in the country’s domestic market which “really needs a boost at this point.”
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“This is a welcome development for all of us. And this is what we all need,” the Mindanao lawmaker said in a statement.
He likewise thanked President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for “doing all he can in enticing foreign direct investments to come.”
DTI earlier reported that the BOI has granted “green lane certification to 41 projects” as of February 8.
Barbers’ statement noted that there are a total of 148 projects, 46 of which are already ongoing while 102 are still pending.
“We have started the ball rolling so to speak. And all we need is just to take a proactive stance by consistent follow ups so that these will all come into fruition. By then, we will be creating more jobs and generating more activities for the economy to boom even more,” he added.
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Out of the 41 projects granted “green lane certification” by the BOI, Barbers said that 20 have either “submitted commitments during the presidential visits (of President Marcos) or directly resulting from follow-through activities.”
In 2023 alone, the President visited Tokyo in Japan, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Honolulu in the United States, and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos recently returned to the Philippines after two back-to-back trips to Australia in late February and early March upon the invitation of Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The lawmaker said that the countries with the most investments in the Philippines are Japan, with 21 projects, and the United States with 13 projects.
“They have produced the most number of projects that have already been actualized,” he explained.
As it is now, foreign investors are still conducting pre-implementation and planning activities in their respective countries for the remaining 102 projects involving $58 billion in investment pledges to the Marcos administration, Barbers’ statement continued.