MANILA – Passing the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) bill into law will be critical in attracting foreign investors to do business in the Philippines as the country pushes for economic recovery amid the pandemic, a trade official said.
At the virtual European-Philippine Business Summit on Friday, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said a better version of the bill that would be welcomed more by investors would help get more foreign direct investments (FDIs).
“I think we already have a good framework,” Rodolfo said. “Hopefully, as this gets discussed furthermore prior to the resumption of the plenary session on November 9, we come (up) with a much better version.”
He added that passing the CREATE bill would dispel doubts among investors over the country’s incentives regime.
“I think the past two or three years, that has been the biggest stumbling block in terms of attracting investors,” Rodolfo said.
He noted that while the CREATE bill would help lure investments in the short run, other bills need to be passed to address long-term structural issues.
“We need to pass the longer-term reform measures on Public Service Act, Retail Trade Liberalization, and Foreign Investment Act,” Rodolfo said, adding that these bills pending in Congress are priorities of the DTI and the administration to gain more FDIs. (PNA)
