THE upcoming Philippine Industrial Summit (PIS) will not only highlight big industries but will also put booming local industries in the spotlight, an official of the Phividec Industrial Authority (PIA) said.
Phividec administrator Franklin Quijano said one of the objectives he hope to achieve in the summit on November 25 to 27 is to awaken Filipino industrialists.
“There’s a lot of talk about foreign investments but to me, maka-encourage kaha kag foreign investment kung ang domestic investors nimo dili gani interesado? (Are you able to encourage foreign investment if the domestic investors are not even interested?)” Quijano said.
Quijano said cited the importance of domestic industries, which he said, is important to convince foreign investors to pour investments into the country.
Aside from giving favor to foreign investors, industries should also look at giving incentives to local industries.
“We want to look at the balance and then move forward because all the discussions will be documented in to one book of proceedings and then we will distribute this to government and even foreign embassies to inform them of our that we need help, we need investors,” he added.
“We are more than ready to welcome more investors and industries here because we have the resource endowments,” Quijano said.
Quijano, a former mayor of Iligan City said, Mindanao is more than ready to be transformed into the country’s largest industrial hub and put Cagayan de Oro “at the heart of it.”
It has earned support so far from the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP), the Japanese and Chinese Consulates of Davao City, Philippine News Agency (PNA), Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), and the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) among others.
The summit will be held at the Xavier Estates and Limketkai Luxe Hotel, and will feature exhibit and job fair. (With reports from Syciliane Li Zosa/Siliman University)
pamjay.pjo@gmail.com