MORE INVESTMENTS would be needed for the Philippines to be able to reach the high end of its growth target, Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said.
This week, Mr. Recto is hoping to woo global investors at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Mr. Recto, Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina A. Roque, House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez and Ambassador and Philippine Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Manuel Antonio J. Teehankee are scheduled to hold an economic briefing for global investors in Davos.
“The event will showcase the country’s promising potential as the next big investment destination, especially with the recent enactment of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act,” the Department of Finance (DoF) said in a statement.
CREATE MORE expanded tax incentives and streamlined value-added tax processes in a bid to make the Philippines more attractive to foreign investors.
“In the latest DBCC (Development Budget Coordination Committee), our projected growth is 6% to 8%. It would appear that the consensus would be anywhere from 6% to 7%. But it all depends. We passed CREATE MORE. We’re going to WEF… We will present CREATE MORE, and hopefully we’re able to get more investments,” Mr. Recto told reporters on Jan. 16.
Asked if the 8% growth target is realistic, Mr. Recto said: “It all depends. It really all depends on how much investments take place.”
The DBCC in December widened the gross domestic product growth target band to 6-8% for 2025 until 2028, due to “evolving domestic and global uncertainties.”
The Finance chief is also slated to hold one-on-one meetings with global firms, including banks, manufacturers, and technology companies to discuss possible investment and expansion in the Philippines.
In a separate statement, Ms. Roque said the WEF “presents a unique platform to showcase the Philippines as a dynamic and a resilient economy, driven by innovation and inclusivity.”
“Our participation underscores our commitment to strengthening international partnerships that uplift Philippine industries to thrive in the global marketplace,” she said.
Also joining the economic team in Davos are top executives such as Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (Mynt) Chief Executive Officer Martha Sazon; LT Group, Inc. President Lucio C. Tan III; LT Group, Inc. Director and President of Asia Brewery, Inc. Michael G. Tan; Grab Philippines Chief Corporate Officer Sherielysse Bonifacio; and Benguet Corp. Director Maria Remedios Romualdez-Pompidou.
REVENUE COLLECTIONMeanwhile, preliminary figures provided by the DoF on Jan. 16 showed revenue collection hit P4.41 trillion in 2024, 0.59% higher than the P4.38-trillion target.
Broken down, the government collected P3.78 trillion in tax revenues and P625.96 billion in nontax revenues.
“But also because of the excess revenue to fund the unprogrammed appropriations, including Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC), including other dividends, we were able to generate an additional P200 billion so about P450 billion more or less next year,” Mr. Recto said.
State-run firms PhilHealth and PDIC remitted P60 billion and P107 billion in “excess funds” respectively to the Bureau of the Treasury.
DoF data showed Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collections hit P2.83 trillion in 2024.
In a separate statement on Monday, BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui, Jr. said its collection “will exceed its P2.85-trillion collection goal by the billions,” as it waits for the final numbers to be reconciled by early February.
On the other hand, the Bureau of Customs (BoC) also surpassed its P939.7-billion target by 2.46% to P916.6 billion, while other offices collected P32.39 billion this year.
“Moving forward, I expect the BIR also to hit the target for 2025. The challenge would be a little more for BoC because we increased their target for next year. We want them to grow double digits also for next year,” Mr. Recto said.
For 2025, BIR has been tasked to collect P3.2 trillion, while P1.06 trillion for Customs.
“Assuming they have a shortfall, assuming they don’t hit the double digits, we’re preparing what can we do to ensure that we still collect the revenues so that we don’t increase the deficit by way of nontax revenues and other privatization proceeds,” Mr. Recto said. — A.R.A. Inosante
