Aquino includes 2 in incentive plan

President Benigno Aquino III has ordered the Trade Department to include the creative industries and disaster-mitigating and recovery projects in the 2011 Investment Priorities Plan, bringing to 13 the number of activities eligible for incentives this year from 11.

“The President believes that there are huge potentials for creative industries in the Philippines so he wanted these activities, even those companies that will serve the domestic market, to enjoy incentives,” Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said in an interview.

He said local TV stations and movie companies should be given incentives because they got their materials from abroad. “Creative industries are directed towards animation,” he said.

Domingo also said Aquino wanted the inclusion of disaster-mitigating and recovery projects in the list because the country was prone to natural disasters and giving incentives to those who would invest in the activity would hasten the rehabilitation of affected areas in the country.

“This disaster-mitigating and recovery projects was returned to the list because if someone wants to invest anytime in case of post-rehabilitation, he can avail of incentives,” Domingo said.

Creative industries and disaster-mitigating and recovery projects were included in the 2010 IPP. The Board of Investments said the agency removed them from the list of activities under the 2011 IPP after no investors last year applied for incentives.

The BoI forwarded the proposed 2011 IPP to Malacañang in February this year. The 11 activities originally included in the list are agriculture, agribusiness and fishery; shipbuilding; mass housing; energy; infrastructure; research and development; green projects; motor vehicles; tourism; strategic projects; and projects under the public-private partnership scheme. –Julito G. Rada, Manila Standard Today