The government extended incentives to 25 various projects nationwide with total investments of P287.947 billion during the first year of the Marcos Jr. administration.
The projected amount of incentives or the foregone revenues by the state was at nearly P30 billion, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
Finance officials disclosed that the current administration through the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) has not disapproved of a single project that was eligible for an incentive.
The projects are expected to generate at least 24,617 jobs, according to documents released by the DOF to the media.
The list of projects was topped by Unity Digital Infrastructure Inc. for its P147.493-billion investment in infrastructure that includes telecommunications in multiple locations nationwide.
The project was given an incentive of P1.097 billion which involved 4 years of income tax holiday (ITH), 5 years of enhanced deductions (ED), and 11 years of duty exemption on imports.
The project, with the second biggest investment, was LBS Digital Infrastructure Corp. for its P36.069-billion telecommunication infrastructure project that is expected to generate 270 jobs. The firm received P1.392 billion in incentives from the government.
Unilever Philippines Inc. received the highest amount of incentives among the 25 projects at P9.411 billion. The firm got 6 years of ITH, 5 years of ED and 11 years of duty exemption on importation. Unilever’s latest investment is worth P4.769 billion.
“For this administration, there is no disapproved [project] as far as the FIRB is concerned,” Finance Assistant Secretary and FIRB Secretariat Head Juvy Danofrata said in a recent press briefing.
Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said the 25 projects approved by the FIRB under the current administration is a “pretty decent performance,” noting that the total investment was already a quarter of a trillion pesos.
The DOF said projects with at least P1 billion investments are eligible for incentives subject to the approval of the FIRB. The eligible projects are reviewed by investment promotion agencies which are then submitted for scrutiny of the FIRB’s technical committee.
The technical board recommends the incentives for the projects for FIRB’s approval. The FIRB is chaired by the DOF, co-chaired by the Department of Trade and Industry with its members being the Department of Budget and Management, National Economic and Development Authority, and the Office of the Executive Secretary.
