President Marcos inaugurates JG Summit’s petrochem plant

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos inaugurated yesterday the P150-billion expanded petrochemical facility of JG Summit Olefins Corp. (JGSOC) in Batangas City, a development that is seen to create thousands of local jobs.

Marcos said the inauguration of the expanded petrochemical facility is a manifestation of business confidence and proof that the administration’s investment promotion policies are working.

What JG Summit has built is more than cutting-edge technology, according to Marcos, who also called the development a testament to the skills of Filipino workers and a realization of the vision of the late industrialist John Gokongwei.

“I thank you for this opportunity to personally validate if the policies that we have instituted to do, in fact spur investments do work on the ground,” Marcos said in his speech.

The President, accompanied by JG Summit Holdings Inc. chairman James Go, JGSHI president and chief executive officer Lance Gokongwei and JGSOC president and CEO Arnel Santos, toured the 160-hectare facility located in Barangay Simlong.

Gokongwei said the manufacturing complex represents one of their largest investments in a single business.

In 2023, JGSOC completed and started commercial operations of the final leg of its $1.3-billion expansion project, bringing overall site capacity to over one million metric tons of petrochemical products per year.

Petrochemicals are essential building blocks to the most basic products Filipinos use in everyday life: packaging for food, fiber for clothing, materials used in paint and furniture, among others.

In his remarks, Marcos “apologized” to the Gokongwei Group for “pirating” some of their best talents.

Marcos was referring to former Robinsons Land Corp. president and CEO Frederick Go, whom he recently appointed as Special Assistant for Investment and Economic Affairs.

The President described Go as “a valuable member of the hardworking Gokongwei clan.”

“At this point, we are…I must apologize, I suppose, to the Gokongwei Group for taking away and pirating their... headhunting some of their best talent,” he said in jest.

In December last year, Marcos issued Executive Order 49 creating the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (OSAPIEA) under the Office of the President to ensure the effective integration, coordination and implementation of the various government investment and economic policies and programs. OSAPIEA is headed by Go, who has the rank of Secretary. Go is a nephew of the late tycoon John Gokongwei.

Lance, son of John Gokongwei, on the other hand, is a member of the Private Sector Advisory Council.