Government budgets P289 B to boost mfg sector

MANILA, Philippines - The government has earmarked a total of P289 billion this year to boost the local manufacturing sector.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. said the budget for the Manufacturing Resurgence Program (MRP) this year has increased from last year’s allocation of P239 billion.

Cristobal said the biggest chunk of the MRP budget this year would go to the Department of Agriculture at about P14 billion, followed by the Philippine Coconut Administration with P7.1 billion, and Department of Labor and Employment with P1.2 billion.

The Board of Investments, for its part, will receive P100 million.

Cristobal said the BOI’s budget would be used mostly for the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS), a program that seeks to boost manufacturing in the local automotive industry.

The DTI, which serves as the coordinating agency for the MRP, said the program aims to rebuild the existing capacity of industries, strengthen new ones, and maintain the competitiveness of industries with comparative advantage.

The MRP also seeks to build on agriculture-based manufacturing industries that generate employment, and support small-holder farmers and agri-cooperatives through product development, value-adding, and integration to big enterprises for marketing and financing purposes.

“The revival of the manufacturing sector is key to inclusive economic growth because it will generate much-needed employment and help the country tap regional production networks,” BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said.