FOREIGN investors looking to set up semiconductor and electronics operations in the Philippines will no longer be left to navigate the country’s bureaucracy alone, as the government will now directly handle their registration, permitting, and facility setup.
This definitive shift in investor treatment is the cornerstone of the Philippine Semiconductor and Electronics Industry Roadmap, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) President Ferdinand Ferrer said.
The direct facilitation will be executed through the newly formed Semiconductor and Electronics Industry Advisory Council (Seiac), a joint body of government and private sector leaders.
‘What will happen through the Seiac, if there are investors in this industry, the Seiac…tutulungan itong mga investors,’ Ferrer said. ‘Registration, permitting, setting up, everything. Hindi na iyong pumunta dito ang investor and you’re on your own. No, hindi na. Kasama na ang government.’
The launch of the roadmap on September 2 aims to abandon the fragmented strategies of the past, signaling to the global market that the Philippines is unified under a single blueprint.
‘The Philippines has a roadmap; it is not just ‘kanya-kanya’ [to each his own] it is both government and private sector,’ Ferrer noted.
Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto, who chairs Seiac, reinforced this concierge-level approach, stating that the government is actively removing structural obstacles and regulatory bottlenecks to accelerate permitting.
‘A roadmap is only as good as its execution. We have enough good plans in government. What the industry needs from us now are results,’ Recto said in a statement. ‘As Chairperson of Seiac, you can be assured that our office will not only chair the launch of this Roadmap, but will stay on top of its actual implementation.’
Beyond streamlining the ease of doing business, the roadmap seeks to elevate the country up the technology value chain. Recto emphasized that President Marcos wants the industry to capture high-value activities such as advanced chip design and engineering.
‘Ang target natin, hindi lang makita ang Made in the Philippines [na tatak] sa mga produkto. Gusto natin: Designed in the Philippines. Engineered in the Philippines. Innovated in the Philippines,’ Recto added.
To measure its progress, the roadmap has established clear milestones for 2030:
Achieve US$110 billion in total semiconductor and electronics exports;
Increase the Philippines’ share of global semiconductor assembly, test, and packaging from 4 percent to 7 percent;
Capture 4 percent of global electronics manufacturing services;
Build an integrated circuit (IC) design sector generating US$2 billion to $3 billion in annual exports.
Because the unified strategy targets advanced manufacturing, the incoming wave of foreign direct investment will require a highly specialized workforce.
Ferrer pointed out that educational agencies, including the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda), the Department of Education (DepEd), and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), are actively involved in the roadmap to ensure talent availability.
‘The companies that we will be attracting are not technology of yung dati, this is all technology of the future, which we will need to train the people,’ Ferrer explained.