Aquino admin to remove ‘Contingency List’ from this year’s IPPs

THE perks for firms hit hard by the global recession would be scrapped from this year’s list of projects that are entitled to incentives, the Board of Investments (BOI) said. Efren Leaño, BOI executive director, said the 2011 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) would be leaner than the last year’s list.

The annual IPP itemizes investment areas that are eligible for fiscal and nonfiscal perks from the government.

The “contingency list” was introduced in the 2009 IPP and was retained last year to give BOI-registered companies that were badly affected by the global economic downturn a breather.

Leaño said this would be removed from this year’s IPP.

The contingency list allows the grant of up to three years of income tax holiday to existing activities and/or projects affected by the global economic crisis that would maintain and/or increase investments and workforce.

This list is in effect until the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) declares that the global crisis is over.

Leaño said there was no applicant for incentives under the contingency list last year.

Another BOI official who requested anonymity said that while NEDA has yet to officially announce that the crisis is over, the BOI deems that there is no more need to extend the perks under the contingency list.

The BOI official added that the 2011 IPP would also strike off the “disaster risk management” list, which was included in the previous year’s investments priority list to boost preparedness for calamities and disasters.

The official said the 2011 IPP would reflect the priority given by the Department of Trade and Industry to the six sectors identified as having high growth potentials, namely: agriculture, housing, information technology-business process outsourcing, mining, semiconductor and electronics, and tourism.

Meanwhile, Leaño said the “green” projects list, which was also introduced in the 2010 IPP, would be kept as a green project is expected to be registered this year.

The BOI will conduct simultaneous public hearings for the 2011 IPP in the cities of Manila, Cebu and Davao on January 7.

Ayala Land gets perks
As the government retains perks for housing developers, the BOI has recently granted perks to a condominium project of Ayala Land Inc.’s (ALI) subsidiary.

The agency approved the registration of Amaia Land Corp.’s P998.395-million horizontal mass housing project dubbed Amaia Scapes Laguna. Amaia Land, formerly First Communities Realty Inc., is ALI’s economic housing arm.

Amaia Scapes Laguna would be built within a 19.1-hectare tract of land in Barangay Barandal, Calamba City.

A total of 1,659 housing units, which would each be priced between P600,000 and P1.25 million, would be constructed.

Commercial operations would begin this month, and 358 people would be hired.

Amaia Scapes Laguna is Amaia Land’s first mass housing venture that was granted BOI incentives. –BEN ARNOLD O. DE VERA REPORTER, Manila Times