- FPI pushes Tatak Pinoy enactment and CREATE MORE rollout to revive homegrown industry.
- Reformers demand PNS enforcement, green policy, and local preference procurement.
- Trade reforms: anti-smuggling law, e-governance, and an investment ombudsman for industrial ease.
The Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) has presented a comprehensive legislative agenda to the 20th Congress, outlining a vision and series of actions to immediately implement reforms aimed at reviving the domestic manufacturing sector, strengthening fair trade, and fostering investor confidence. The agenda includes six industry policy reforms and six trade enforcement actions.
The number one priority is full enforcement of the Tatak Pinoy Act which includes funding for a multi-sectoral council that will guide industrial strategy. FPI also calls for an expedited implementation of the CREATE MORE incentive program, as soon as possible by the DTI to assure equality of access to the program amongst domestic and export producers.
The quality control thing weighs heavily. FPI wants to see rigorous compliance with the Philippine National Standards (PNS) at all ports and markets, and they are advocating for a Local Preference Procurement Law which would require public procurement to give preference to locally made PNS-compliant goods—particularly related to infrastructure and public goods.
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Then, FPI’s reform proposals also include a green industrial policy aimed at promoting low-carbon manufacturing industries and circular economy models, and include transition financing mechanisms to support the development of clean technologies.
On the trade side, FPI furthermore called for the enactment of a Comprehensive Anti-Smuggling Law, featuring port/digitalization and advanced customs profiling; a call for better trade remedies, particularly for expedited safeguards and provisional duty measures, and for tariff reviews every couple of months to protect local producers.
Additionally, the federation is encouraging lawmakers to create an Independent Investment Ombudsman, which would be integrated with its key government partners to handle investor complaints and reduce friction in their regulatory environment. All reforms would benefit from calls for e-governance integration for better licensing, permitting, and trade facilitation.