Duterte orders NEDA to ease restrictions on investment areas

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has ordered the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board to lift or ease restrictions on eight investment areas with limited foreign participation to improve the Philippines’ competitiveness. 

Duterte made the directive through Memorandum Order No. 16 issued last Nov. 21.

The President said the order seeks “to raise the Philippines’ level of competitiveness” and “to foster higher economic growth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region and beyond through joint endeavors in the spirit of equality and partnership.” 

The investment areas covered by the order are: 

• Private recruitment, whether for local or overseas employment.
• Practice of particular professions “where allowing foreign participation will redound to the public benefit.” 
• Contracts for the construction and repair of locally-funded public works.
• Public services, except activities and systems that are recognized as public utilities such as transmission and distribution of electricity, water pipeline distribution system and sewerage pipeline system.
• Culture, production, milling, processing, and trading except retailing of rice and corn and acquiring by barter, purchase or otherwise rice, corn and their by-products.
• Teaching at higher education levels.
• Retail trade enterprises.
• Domestic market enterprises.

“Members of the NEDA Board are hereby directed to earnestly support, in a coordinated manner, such legislative efforts as may be necessary to eliminate or relax the aforesaid restrictions including pending legislation seeking to clarify the definition of public utilities,” the memorandum read. 

Duterte also ordered the NEDA Board to immediately advise him on the restrictions, on foreign participation that were lifted or eased without the need to craft a new law. 

He said such restrictions would be reflected on the amendments to the 10th Regular Foreign Investment Negative List under Executive Order (EO) No. 184 issued in 2015. 

The negative list lifted foreign ownership restrictions on lending firms, investment houses and financing companies, and reduces the number of professions reserved only for Philippine nationals.

Under the EO, professions that can only be practiced by Filipinos has been reduced to cover pharmacy, radiologic and X-ray technology, criminology, forestry and law.