DTI mulls incentives to car makers

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) plans to provide incentives to car manufacturers based on the number of units assembled here and exported to other countries under the upcoming roadmap for the automotive industry.

DTI Secretary Gregory Domingo told reporters yesterday the government wants to extend incentives to car manufacturers according to their production and export numbers under the roadmap being crafted for the automotive industry.

“There should be a minimum volume requirement that will trigger incentives,” he said.

He said the roadmap is intended to make the country a competitive player in the automotive industry.

“It is an attempt to put the Philippine auto production in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) map.”

He said the roadmap should also enable the country to participate as an exporter in ASEAN.

“I have said before that if you can’t export, I don’t consider you competitive,” he said.

The DTI presented the draft roadmap for the auto industry to the economic cluster on Wednesday.

Domingo said the members of the economic cluster want some revisions to be made on the draft roadmap which the DTI would work on during the next two weeks.

After the revisions are made, he said the DTI would present the roadmap to the other cabinet members.

Local car manufacturers have been waiting for the roadmap for the automotive industry, citing that such is needed for firms here to decide on future investments.

Domingo said the DTI is in talks with two car firms which have existing operations in the Philippines and one new company on possible investments to be made here.

In the same event, DTI undersecretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. said the DTI is ready to release roadmaps for the chemical, copper and broad manufacturing sector on Aug. 13.

The DTI launched the industry roadmap initiative last year to promote the growth of specific industries and the entire manufacturing sector.

The roadmap initiative involves industry associations crafting roadmaps which contain strategies and measures for them to be more competitive and to grow.

Apart from the roadmaps for the different industries, an integrated roadmap for the entire manufacturing sector would also be crafted.

The government wants to revive the local manufacturing sector which has been neglected in the past years, as it is seen to create more jobs and make growth more inclusive.

As the country aims to sustain its positive economic performance, Domingo said the country is poised to achieve its strongest growth this year.

“Coming from the first quarter, NEDA’s (National Economic and Development Authority) expectation is we can continue to post strong growth. That means we have a very good shot in posting strongest growth,” he said.

The economy grew by 7.8 percent in the first quarter, much faster than the 6.5-percent growth posted in the previous year.