‘Build, Build, Build' program to turn Davao City into manufacturing, agro-industry hub

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DAVAO CITY, Aug 5 -- Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the spate of infrastructure investments in the Davao Region as part of President Duterte's “Build, Build, Build” program will catalyze its growth potential and transform this city into a center for manufacturing and agro-industry in the South.

Dominguez said Davao’s business leaders, in turn, should anticipate these positive developments which is complemented by the Duterte administration’s comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP), by harnessing the power of new digital technologies to improve enterprise efficiency and converting the opportunities available to them into wealth and more jobs for the people of Mindanao.

“Be assured that your government stands squarely behind you. But we can only assist. It is for you to convert opportunities into created wealth. It is for you to do the innovation required for new businesses to prosper. It is for you to catalyze risk into profit,” Dominguez told members of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII) during their 50th anniversary celebration held last week at the SMX Convention Center here.

Among those present during the event were DCCCII officials led by its chairman Antonio Dela Cruz, president Arturo Milan, and honorary vice chairman Angie Angliongto; George Barcelon, chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Vic Limjoco, PCCI president; members of the diplomatic corps; and local government officials headed by Davao City Vice Mayor Bernard Al-ag.

Dominguez said Davao’s entrepreneurs should “be the businessmen of the first caliber” who are capable of seizing the many opportunities opened to them by the Duterte administration’s various reform initiatives.

Describing Davao City as “the hottest spot in the nation’s bright economic prospects,” Dominguez said the area and the rest of Davao have long been gearing for rapid growth, driven not only by the fact that President Duterte hails from this region, but also because of its massive business potential, impressive headroom for expansion and the private investments that have fueled its economic expansion.

“The forthcoming infrastructure investments will catalyze the region’s growth potential. It will make the city a center for manufacturing and agro-industry,” Dominguez said. “Massive investments in property development have already begun, anticipating broad-based and sustained growth far into the future.”

Dominguez said among the road infrastructure projects already benefiting the people of Davao are the Miranda Bridge II at the Daang Maharlika in Davao del Norte, which now serves as the main access of motorists from Davao City going to other parts of the Davao Region; and the Davao River Bridge, which was completed in April this year.

Both projects have significantly reduced travel time within the Davao region, he said.

He said the big-ticket infrastructure projects that the government is currently implementing in Davao are the following:

• the Davao International Airport Development Project that is expected to be completed in 2022;
• the Davao City Coastal Road Project that will be completed in 2021;
• the Mindanao Logistics Infrastructure Network involving the construction or improvement of 2,567 kilometers of roads across the Davao, CARAGA and Northern Mindanao regions, and which is expected to be completed next year; and
• the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project.

Dominguez said that in the near future, the Duterte administration will also begin implementation of the following “Build, Build, Build” projects in the Davao region:

• the first phase of the Mindanao Railway Project, consisting of the Tagum-Davao-Digos Segment that will be 102 kilometers long with a design speed of 160 kilometers per hour. The segment is expected to be operational by 2021;
• upgrading of the general cargo berth and construction of the back-up area of Davao Sasa Port;
• the Davao Expressway Project, which involves the construction of an approximately 60-kilometer expressway from Bukidnon-Davao National Highway in Davao City to Digos-Sultan Kudarat Road, traversing the towns of Toril and Santa Cruz;
• the Asbang Small Reservoir Irrigation Project, which involves the construction of a reservoir dam and irrigation systems in Matanao, Davao del Sur;
• the Davao City Bypass Road, which is a 44.6-kilometer road with a 2.28-kilometer tunnel that is expected to be completed by 2022. It will reduce travel time from Barangay J.P. Laurel in Panabo City to Barangay Sirawan in Davao City to only 49 minutes from the current 1 hour and 44 minutes; and
• the Davao-Samal Bridge, which will link the city with the Island Garden City of Samal. It will reduce travel time between the two cities from 26-30 minutes using RORO or ferry operations to only 2 and 5 minutes using the said link bridge.

"Davao City’s economic prospects can only get even better. The city and its environs will benefit from the massive infrastructure investments over the next few years. These investments will improve access and facilitate the growth of enterprises in this area," Dominguez said.

He said Davao City’s strategic location within the East ASEAN Growth Area will further boost its prospects for economic expansion given that it “sits right at the nexus of blossoming trade routes and tourism centers linking the rapidly growing areas of Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia.”

“The 'Build, Build, Build' program’s massive investments in infrastructure in this region anticipates the long growth phase that lies ahead. The obvious growth potential of the Davao region justifies the scale of the projects now in the pipeline,” Dominguez said.

Complementing this massive infra buildup not only in Davao but in the rest of the country is the Duterte administration’s tax reform program and its efforts to improve the ease of doing business, Dominguez said.

On top of the recent signing into law of the Ease of Doing Business Act, which will further reduce red tape and simplify business registration, the government will also carry out various e-governance initiatives to improve trading procedures and support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), Dominguez said.

He said the implementation of the first tax reform package, which lowered personal income taxes for 99 percent of taxpayers, improved revenue collections beyond expectations, and benefited MSMEs by way of significant tax breaks, will be followed by reforms in the corporate tax system to further help small businesses expand.

The overhaul of the corporate tax system, which is Package 2 of President Duterte’s CTRP, aims to lower taxes for businesses while modernizing the country’s chaotic investment incentives scheme that has led to an uneven playing field and discouraged new businesses from flourishing, Dominguez said.

“The second package of tax reform that we hope to see legislated this year will even be more helpful to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which comprise fully 99.6 percent of all our enterprises and employ 63.3 percent of our labor force,” Dominguez said.

He said all these initiatives “will surely contribute to creating a positive and transparent environment for enterprises. Strong businesses are what we ultimately need to provide meaningful employment opportunities and create the goods our people need. Be assured that the government is doing its part to provide that positive environment.”