Manufacturers want RP to appear on investors’ radar

MANILA, Philippines—The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries of the Philippines Inc. is urging the government to put up a research and development facility that will enable the country to attract the billions of dollars in investments that are now being poured into neighboring economies.

Seipi vice chair Arthur Young said private sector efforts, like the ones being spearheaded by Seipi, would not be enough to keep the country on the radar of international investors. An institutionalized effort, led by the Department of Science and Technology, should be established.

“We need to have something more concrete that will serve as a lasting legacy, and will ensure the industry’s longevity and sustainability. Seipi can be the catalyst to help and support it, but ultimately, it’s the government that has to form an institution to facilitate this,” Young said in an interview.

He said the institution, while government-led, should be independent and apolitical, as adding politics into the mix would just defeat the purpose of the institution.

Since the new administration is just on its second month, it will be a good idea for President Aquino and his team to start thinking about how the country may develop and sustain the local semiconductor and electronics industry for the long term, he said.

Seipi is now working on a technology roadmap that will determine which technologies the country must focus on, given meager resources. The roadmap is expected to be completed and presented to Mr. Aquino by October.

“But a roadmap is only as good as the next government. What if the next president has different ideas? We have to institutionalize to ensure the sustainability of the industry. Right now, there is no continuity. That’s exactly what we need—continuity,’’ Young explained.

A big step toward the direction the industry wants the country to take is a partnership with Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (Itri). That partnership will determine the country’s technology focus.

A memorandum of understanding was signed by Seipi and the Congressional Committee on Science, Technology and Engineering with Itri last year to put up an R&D facility.

Young said funding for this had already been transferred to the DOST and then to the Advanced Science and Technology Institute, but there had been no developments since last year. –Abigail L. Ho, Philippine Daily Inquirer