The budgetary support received by investment promotion agencies (IPAs) from the national government in the last five years has amounted to a total of P58 billion, according to a statement released by the Department of Finance (DOF) yesterday.
The Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) Secretariat reported that in 2021 alone, funds received by the IPAs from the government amounted to about P5.07 billion.
The recipient IPAs are the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB), Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority, Board of Investments, Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) Group, Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) and the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone Authority.
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority and the PHIVIDEC Industrial Authority were not included in the list of budgetary support recipients as the two agencies are already self-sufficient and do not receive budgetary support from the national government, the DOF statement said.
Juvy Danofrata, finance assistant secretary and FIRB secretariat head, said during a recent DOF executive committee meeting that AFAB allocated 100 percent of its budget to capital outlays or the purchase of new assets, while SBMA and TIEZA allocated 100 percent of their budget to maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE).
In a five-year average, FIRB said in its report the BCDA Group, which consists of Clark Development Corp., John Hay Management Corp. and the Poro Point Management Corp., have received the largest budgetary support at P7.47 billion combined, with 83 percent of its budget allocated to the group’s MOOE.
This is in addition to the authority of the IPAs to exact fees and other charges from their locators and registered business enterprises.
“This report only shows that the Philippine government has always been supportive of our IPAs in their operations and investment promotion efforts,” Carlos Dominguez, DOF secretary, said.
“It is only right that they (IPAs) maximize the budgetary support they get from the national government, and translate their efforts into attracting more economically stimulating and productive foreign investments, especially in this time of the pandemic, that would create jobs and supercharge our economy,” he added.
