DESPITE the government’s goal of surpassing last year’s P1.9 trillion record-breaking investment approvals, the country’s manufacturing sector said it is still not getting enough investments.
‘We are not getting enough investments. We would need to have more, actually. We would want to encourage more investments in Philippine manufacturing,’ Federation of Philippine Industries, Inc. (FPI) Chairperson Elizabeth H. Lee told reporters on the sidelines of the FPI Business Summit 2025 on Wednesday.
During the business summit, Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (OSAPIEA) Undersecretary Angel Ignacio said ‘Last year, our registered approved investments reached a record breaking P1.9 trillion which is 30 percent higher than in 2023.’
Ignacio said of this figure, around P192.6 billion of investments went to the manufacturing sector.
‘We aim to surpass these numbers with a stronger push to revitalize your industry. This comes at a time when our economy, despite global headwinds, remains strong and resilient. Today, we are one of the fastest- growing economies in Asia and the world,’ added the OSAPIEA official.
As to the efforts of the country to attract more investments, Lee explained that regionally, the Philippines has some ‘advantages’ even amid corruption issues.
‘So if we were to take a look at corruption that’s happening, it’s a double-edged sword. One is there’s corruption. On the other side, is the Philippine government doing anything about that very corruption? The answer to that is yes. So that’s the silver lining,’ Lee said.
The head of the umbrella organization of Philippine manufacturers and producers said ‘We need to use that opportunity to actually shine, to say that the government recognizes there is corruption.’
This, Lee noted, is what the government needs to focus on ‘so we can help ourselves attract investments.’
Another move that the country can do to entice more investments is to ‘help our own local businesses because we want to prioritize our businesses. So Tatak Pinoy, Buy Local, Buy Pinoy. That’s important.’
‘We also need to prioritize Filipino-made products. So those are the two main things that we can actually do to help ourselves. They are the low-hanging fruits that we can actually do to help ourselves,’ added Lee.
For her part, Trade and Industry Secretary Cristina A. Roque underscored that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Board of Investments (BOI) and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) are ‘working hard to align investments with our industrial priorities that deepen domestic supply chains and create more opportunities for local manufacturers and suppliers.’
Roque said this as she acknowledged that ‘We have a bit of a local problem now here,’ adding, ‘Investments are of course, coming in, but not as much as we expect it to be. So what DTI will be doing, it will be to strengthen the industries that are here.’
The country’s Trade chief underscored that DTI will ‘definitely be going to all of you [industries].’
‘I’ve already set some meetings with some of the industry owners, or at least presidents of the company, and we can really discuss on how to really grow and strengthen the businesses here in the Philippines,’ added Roque.
Despite investors adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach because of the headwinds, Roque said the Board of Investments (BOI) will not be recalibrating its target for investment approvals of P1.7 trillion for the agency alone.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that approved investments from both foreign and Filipino nationals as of the first half of 2025 are already at P481.01 billion.