Approving the 2022 Strategic Investment Priority Plan

May 24, 2022

MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 61

APPROVING THE 2022 STRATEGIC INVESTMENT PRIORITY PLAN

WHEREAS, under Section 300 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997 (NIRC), as amended by Republic Act (RA) No. 11534, otherwise known as the "Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises" (CREATE) Act, the Board of Investments (BOI), in coordination with the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB), investment promotion agencies (IPAs), other government agencies administering tax incentives, and the private sector, is mandated to formulate the Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP) to be submitted to the President for approval;

WHEREAS, pursuant to Executive Order No. 226 or the "Omnibus Investments Code," as amended, the 2020 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) was signed by the President on 18 November 2020, and took effect on 06 December 2020. Following the enactment of the CREATE Act, the FIRB, through Resolution No. 05-21 dated 14 April 2021, adopted the 2020 IPP and its General Policies and Specific Guidelines, to serve as the transitional SIPP, pending the issuance of the newly formulated SIPP;

WHEREAS, the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives endorsed the newly formulated SIPP as presented in its meeting on 07 February 2022;

WHEREAS, the FIRB, in its Resolution No. 001-22 dated 21 February 2022, adopted the proposed SIPP and endorsed the same to the BOI for approval of the President;

WHEREAS, the BOI, through Board Resolution No. 08-21 dated 25 March 2022, approved the submission of the newly formulated SIPP to the President for approval, in compliance with Section 300 of the NIRC, as amended, and Rule 4, Sections 2 and 7 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the CREATE Act;

WHEREAS, the newly formulated SIPP is aligned with the updated Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, and with the long-term aspiration and vision of the Inclusive Innovation Industrial Strategy (i3S) of the Department of Trade and Industry and Pagtanaw 2050 of the Department of Science and Technology's National Academy of Science and Technology;

WHEREAS, the activities listed in the 2020 IPP are retained and included under Tier I of the newly formulated SIPP;

WHEREAS, the activities proposed to be included under Tier II are envisioned to promote a competitive and resilient economy and fill in gaps in the Philippines' industrial value chains, and are deemed critical in promoting green ecosystems, ensuring a dependable health system, achieving robust self-reliance in defense systems, and realizing modern, competitive, and resilient industrial and agricultural sectors;

WHEREAS, the activities proposed to be included under Tier III are projected to accelerate the transformation of the economy primarily through the application of research and development, and attracting technology investments. It also includes activities involving the production of equipment, parts, and services that embed new technologies, and the commercialization of research and development output; and

WHEREAS, as represented by the Department of Trade and Industry, the newly formulated SIPP underwent a formal evaluation process, including comprehensive consultations with the FIRB, IPAs, other government agencies administering tax incentives, and the private sector, as required under the CREATE Act;

NOW, THEREFORE, upon the recommendation of the BOI, consistent with the requirements of the CREATE Act, the attached Strategic Investment Priority Plan is hereby APPROVED, subject to relevant laws, rules, and regulations.

Upon effectivity of the SIPP, all government agencies are enjoined to issue the necessary regulations to ensure its implementation in a synchronized and integrated manner. No government body shall adopt any policy or take any course of action contrary to, or inconsistent with the SIPP and relevant laws.

All IPAs shall facilitate and expedite, to the extent possible, the setting up and conduct of registered projects or activities through the one-stop action center established pursuant to Section 310 of the NIRC, as amended. Further, the local government units and other government agencies shall coordinate with the concerned IPA to comply with RA No. 11032 or the "Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018."

This Order shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation or in the Official Gazette, as required under Section 303 of the NIRC, as amended by the CREATE Act.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 24th day of May, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Twenty-Two.

ATTACHMENT

The 2022 Strategic Investment Priority Plan

The 2022 Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP) List of Priority Activities

I. Tier I

This includes all activities listed in the 2020 Investment Priorities Plan, as amended by Memorandum Circular No. 2021-005, 1 unless listed herein under Tier II or Tier III.

II. Tier II

This includes, but not limited to, the following activities:

1. Green Ecosystems

This covers electric vehicle (EV) assembly (e.g., pure EV, plug-in hybrid EV, hybrid EV, fuel cell EV), manufacture of EV parts, components and systems, establishment and operation of EV infrastructure; manufacture of energy efficient maritime vessels and equipment; electronic devices and circuits for smart grid and renewable energy (includes wearable solar devices); bioplastics and biopolymers; renewable energy; energy efficiency and conservation projects; energy storage technologies; and integrated waste management, disposal, & recycling.

2. Health related activities

This covers health related activities such as manufacturing in support of the Vaccine Self-Reliance Program or other health-related programs as endorsed by Department of Health (DOH), Department of Science and Technology (DOST) or other similar agencies; medicines; active pharmaceutical ingredients; and specialty hospitals.

3. Defense related activities

This covers defense related activities as endorsed by the Department of National Defense (DND), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), or National Security Council (NSC).

4. Industrial Value-chain Gaps

This covers activities that will address value chain gaps in, among others, steel, textiles, chemicals; green metals processing (e.g., copper, cobalt, nickel), crude oil refining; and lab-scale wafer fabrication.

5. Food Security related activities

This covers products and services critical to competitively ensure food security or in support of green/organic agriculture, as endorsed by the Department of Agriculture (DA) or Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) such as but not limited to integrated food production and processing activities (e.g., dairy); production and/or adoption of hybrid seeds contained in the National Seed Industry Council (NSIC) Crop Variety Registration; manufacture of animal vaccine, pesticides and fertilizers; and agricultural and fisheries machinery and equipment, and parts and components therefor.

III. Tier III

This includes, but not limited to, the following activities:

1. Research & Development (R&D) and activities adopting advanced digital production technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, such as but not limited to, robotics; artificial intelligence (AI); additive manufacturing; data analytics; digital transformative technologies (e.g., cloud computing services, hyperscalers, data centers, and digital infrastructure); nanotechnology (includes nanoelectronics); biotechnology; production and/or adoption of new hybrid seeds; and other Industry 4.0 technologies.

2. Highly technical manufacturing and production of innovative products and services such as but not limited to manufacture of equipment, parts & services; commercialization of intellectual property (IP) and R&D products/services, aerospace, medical devices (except personal protective equipment); internet of things (IoT) devices and systems (includes wireless sensors and devices); full-scale wafer fabrication; and advanced materials.

3. Establishment of innovation support facilities such as but not limited to R&D hubs; Centers of Excellence; science & technology parks; innovation incubation center; tech startups, startup enablers: incubators & accelerators; and space-related infrastructures.

Pursuant to Section 302 of the CREATE Act, additional activities that comply with Section 296 of the CREATE Act can qualify under Tiers II and III; Provided that, the additional activities under Tier III are duly endorsed by the relevant agencies such as the Department of Science and Technology.

Footnotes

1. Amendments to the General Policies and Specific Guidelines to Implement the 2020 Investment Priorities Plan on the Lifting of the Locational Restriction of Contact Centers and Non-Voice Business Processing Activities Located in Metro Manila (22 July 2021). The moratorium on the processing of applications for economic zones (ecozones) in Metro Manila under Administrative Order 18, series of 2019 shall apply, unless otherwise lifted.

 

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 118, No. 22, p. 6297 on May 30, 2022.