Only minor changes eyed for 2012 IPP

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is considering extending the 2011 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) until this year because only minor revisions are needed in the list.

The IPP lists industries that will receive incentives from the government. The law mandates that the list be reviewed annually and be subject to public hearing.

However, in an interview, Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory L. Domingo said that the 2011 list is already “okay” and that if ever, only minor changes are necessary.

 “It might not be worth it to go through that,” Domingo said when asked if he plans to make a new 2012 IPP. Domingo said that if they do not act on the IPP, by default the 2011 IPP will remain in effect.

In a separate interview, a ranking Board of Investments (BOI) official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that it may not be legal to just do nothing and allow the 2011 IPP to continue by default. The official said the law requires a public hearing that is why the list cannot be automatically extended.

The official agreed with Domingo that the same sectors need incentives, but the law requires a yearly IPP that needs to be presented to the public before approval. 

The complete list of the 2011 IPP are agriculture/agribusiness and fishery; creative industries/knowledge based services; shipbuilding; mass housing; energy; research and development; green projects; motor vehicles; tourism; strategic projects; public private partnership (PPP) projects; and disaster prevention, mitigation and recovery projects.

The agriculture and fishery covers the commercial production and commercial processing of agricultural and fishery products, including their byproducts and wastes. This also covers agriculture and fishery related activities such as irrigation, post-harvest, cold storage and blast freezing facilities.

The creative industries covers business process outsourcing (BPO), information technology (IT) and IT enabled services, and film and performing arts productions.

Shipbuilding covers the construction and repair of ships and shipbreaking.

Mass housing covers the development of low-cost mass housing.

Energy covers the exploration, development, and/or utilization of indigenous energy sources and clean coal technology.

Infrastructure covers transport, water, logistics, waste management facilities, physical infrastructure like tollroads, highways, railways and roads, and pipeline projects for oil and gas.

Research and development covers the establishment of testing laboratories, Centers of Excellence and skills development training institute.

Green projects cover the manufacture of goods, the utilization of which would lead to either the efficient use of energy, natural resources or raw materials, minimize/prevent pollution or reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is the second year green projects are included in the IPP. No one has availed of this particular incentive yet.