The Department of Finance (DOF) said companies must innovate and digitalize if it wants to remain competitive in a post-new coronavirus disease-19 Philippines.
DOF Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the country, as a whole, “must also evolve and take advantage of fast-changing technological innovations so it can better respond and adapt to the demands and challenges of the new global economy.”
“Technological innovations will build new industries and create many employment and investment opportunities. These will allow us to bounce back stronger from the pandemic and help ensure the long-term recovery of our economy,” Dominguez said in a pre-recorded speech of the Department of Science and Technology’sAdvanced Manufacturing Center (AMCen) in Bicutan, Taguig City.
Dominguez said the AMCen, home to the Philippines’ first 3D printing research and development (R&D) institution, aims to be the technological hub and research center for additive manufacturing in the Philippines and will be instrumental for the manufacturing sectors’ transition to the fourth industrial revolution (FIRe).
“I expect the inauguration of more forward-looking projects to bring the Philippines closer to our goal of becoming a major player in the digital economy,” Dominguez said.
Dominguez said government initiatives like the AMCen complement the new Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises
(CREATE) Law to strengthen the culture of innovation and research and R&D in the country, as it offers not only a reduced corporate income tax rate (CIT) for investors but also attractive fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, such as a 100-percent additional deduction on R&D expenses. CREATE lowered the CIT from 30 to 20 percent for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and to 25 percent for all other businesses.
Dominguez said CREATE “to promote a regime that rewards innovation and the creation of new knowledge.”
“Under CREATE, the types of investments that will be pursued are activities consistent with the fourth industrial revolution. These would spur the development of new production techniques and business models. These would also help our workers constantly upgrade their skills and competencies to keep pace with the rapid developments in the digital economy,” Dominguez said.
Dominguez said that along with tapping the incentives under CREATE, companies can also team up with AMCen to explore ways on how they can adopt additive manufacturing practices to improve their respective production lines.
“This Center could also serve as a good starting point to upskill and retool our workers on advanced manufacturing technologies,” Dominguez said.
Dominguez said timely AMCen’s launch will enable companies to adopt to the challenges of the COVID-9 pandemic that has highlighted the urgency of adopting new technologies to the way we used to do things.
“This accelerated trend towards an economy driven by technology will continue into the future. The Philippines must evolve and take advantage of these abrupt changes to better respond to the demands and challenges of the new global economy,” Dominguez said.
