Duterte orders Neda to ease restrictions on foreign investments

President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) to lift or ease restrictions on certain investment areas or activities with foreign participation.

Duterte signed Memorandum Order No 16 on November 21 directing the Neda board and its member agencies “to exert utmost efforts” lift or ease restrictions in eight investment areas.

The eight investment areas are:

1. Private recruitment, whether for local or overseas employment
2. Practice of particular professions, where allowing foreign participation will redound to public benefit
3. Contracts for the construction and repair of locally-funded public works
4. Public services, except activities and systems that are recognized as public utilities such as transmission and distribution of electricity, water pipeline distribution system, and sewerage pipeline system
5. Culture, production, milling, processing, and trading except retailing, of rice and corn and acquiring by barter, purchase or otherwise, rice and corn and the by-products thereof
6. Teaching at higher education levels
7. Retail trade enterprises
8. Domestic market enterprises

“The members of the NEDA Board are hereby directed to earnestly support, in a coordinated manner, such legislative efforts as may be necessary to eliminate or relax the aforesaid restrictions, including pending legislation seeking to clarify the definition of public utilities,” the order stated. /je