Latest news with #PhilippineDevelopmentPlan
GMA Network
16-07-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
SteelAsia unit's P30-B heavy steel recycling mill gets green lane status
Candelaria Steel Inc. facility in Candelaria, Quezon. Photo courtesy of SteelAsia The Board of Investments has granted green lane status to Candelaria Steel Inc.'s, a subsidiary of SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp., P30-billion heavy section mill and new-generation scrap recycling mini-mill project in Candelaria, Quezon. In a news release on Wednesday, the BOI said it awarded Green Lane Certification to Candelaria Steel last July 3, 2025. Obtaining green lane status expedites permit and license issuance, including resolving strategic investment issues. In February 2024, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order 18 mandating the creation of green lanes as part of efforts for ease of doing business and promoting strategic investments. Strategic investments are those that are aligned with the Philippine Development Plan or any similar national development plan and can be characterized by the significant capital or investment to the country; consequential economic impact; positive impact on the environment; significant contribution to the country's balance of payments; with complex technical processes and engineering designs; and will improve the country's infrastructure capabilities. The BOI said Candelaria Steel's facility is scheduled to begin commercial operations by July 2027. The facility is expected to generate approximately 655 in-plant jobs and 3,000 indirect jobs, 'boosting local economic activity and enhancing the domestic steel supply chain.' The steel maker's project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility that will employ Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) technology, prioritizing sustainability by using locally sourced recycled scrap metal instead of imported raw materials. According to SteelAsia, the recycling process reduces CO2 emissions by a minimum of 70% compared to traditional blast furnace methods. The BOI said the plant will produce up to one million metric tons of heavy steel sections annually, including angles, channels, H-beams, I-beams, sheet piles, and universal mill plates. The project is strategically designed to address the country's heavy reliance on steel imports, which currently adds 3 to 4 months to local production timelines, the BOI said. The Candelaria steel mill will complement SteelAsia's medium section mill in Lemery, Batangas, which was also endorsed for Green Lane Certification by the BOI in 2023. The Lemery facility, currently under construction, will produce medium sections and merchant bars—products that are currently 100% imported. Both plants intend to supply the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge Project and help close critical gaps in domestic steel production, support fabrication shops, and boost the country's industrial competitiveness across Southeast Asia, according to the BOI. The steel industry remains a cornerstone of Philippine industrialization, supporting sectors such as infrastructure, automotive, shipbuilding, electronics, and packaging, the investment promotion agency said. —AOL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
04-07-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
DTI-BOI green lane certifies 31 food security projects worth P18.7B
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Board of Investments (BOI), has granted Green Lane certifications to 31 food security projects as of the end of the first half of 2025. In a statement, the DTI said the approved 31 food security projects are worth P18.7 billion in investments and are expected to generate over 7,000 jobs. In February 2023, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order 18, which mandated the creation of green lanes as part of efforts for ease of doing business and promoting strategic investments. Obtaining green lane status expedites permit and license issuance, including resolving strategic investment issues. Strategic investments are those which are aligned with the Philippine Development Plan or any similar national development plan and can be characterized by: significant capital or investment to the country; consequential economic impact; positive impact on the environment; significant contribution to the country's balance of payments; with complex technical processes and engineering designs; and will improve the country's infrastructure capabilities. The DTI said the food security projects range from modern breeder farms to a major coconut processing facility. The Trade Department said strategic investment projects will boost local food production while stimulating employment in agriculture and agribusiness. The agency added that a single coconut processing facility alone is projected to employ 4,725 workers, while a set of breeder farms is expected to create 1,009 jobs. "Our drive for food security goes hand in hand with creating sustainable jobs for Filipinos. This initiative directly addresses President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s directive to strengthen local production and lower food costs for Filipino families," said Trade and Industry Secretary and Board of Investments (BOI) Chairperson Cristina Roque. Broken down, the DTI said 31 projects consist of the following: 17 breeder farms, eight fattening pig production facilities, a feed mill, a cold storage facility, a greenhouse vegetable production, an integrated dairy farm, a wean-to-finish farm, and a coconut processing facility. The Trade Department noted that 17 of these projects are in the pre-development stage, seven are under construction, six are already operational, and one is in the pre-operational status. Since its launch in February 2023, the Green Lane initiative has approved 222 projects worth a combined P5.75 trillion in investments through the DTI-BOI's One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments. Collectively, these projects are expected to generate over 319,000 jobs. Of the 222 Green Lane projects, 176 are in renewable energy, 31 in food security, nine in digital infrastructure and public-private partnerships (PPP), and six in manufacturing. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
The Star
06-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Philippines' jobless rate rises to 4.1 per cent in April
MANILA (Xinhua): The Philippines' unemployment rate in April rose to 4.1 per cent, up from 3.9 per cent in March, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Friday. PSA Chief Dennis Mapa told a press conference that an estimated 2.06 million Filipinos were out of work in April this year, higher than the number of unemployed people in April 2024 at 2.04 million. Despite the slight uptick in unemployment, Department of Economy, Planning, and Development officer in charge and Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie Edillon said in a statement that the Philippine labor market continues to demonstrate resilience amid global headwinds. "We remain on track to meet our target unemployment range of 4.4 to 4.7 percent set under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028," she said. Meanwhile, the Philippines' gross international reserves rose slightly to US$105.5 billion at the end of May from US$105.3 billion a month earlier, the central bank said on Friday, citing preliminary data. The forex reserves represent an external liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.3 months worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income, which the central bank said was robust. - Xinhua
GMA Network
06-06-2025
- Business
- GMA Network
Jobless Filipinos rose to 2.06M in April 2025, says PSA
The number of Filipinos without jobs or livelihoods rose to over two million in April 2025 as more people entered the labor force, seeking jobs, during the period but only few were absorbed by the market, according to the results of the Philippine Statistics Authority's latest Labor Force Survey. At a press briefing on Friday, National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa reported that unemployed persons, ages 15 and above, increased slightly to 2.06 million in the fourth month of the year from 1.93 million in March 2025. Year-on-year, jobless individuals climbed by 23,000 from 2.04 million in April 2024, according to the PSA chief. As a percentage of 50.74 million participants in the labor force —who are actively looking for labor opportunities during the period — the number of unemployed persons translated to an unemployment rate of 4.1%, up from 3.9% in March and 4% in April last year. 'Dumami kasi ang mga kasama sa labor force, labor force participation, so siya 'yung factor… 'pag tumataas ang labor force participation, hindi naman lahat na-absorb lahat para maging employed persons,' Mapa said. (The increase in the number of those joining the labor force was the factor… when labor force participation rises, not everyone is absorbed to become employed persons.) Labor force participants grew by 340,000 from April 2024 and by about 780,000 from March 2025's 49.96 million. Of the 340,000 year-on-year growth in labor force participation, the PSA chief said about 317,000 became employed while 23,000 were not absorbed. 'Despite the slight uptick in unemployment, the Philippine labor market continues to demonstrate resilience amid global headwinds. We remain on track to meet our target unemployment range of 4.4% to 4.7% set under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028,' said Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) officer-in-charge and Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Rosemarie Edillon. —AOL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- GMA Network
Cabinet revamp a ‘golden opportunity' for inclusive road infra — mobility advocates
The Move As One Coalition, an advocacy group for inclusive mobility, on Thursday welcomed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s directive to 'reset' key leadership posts in his administration. In a statement, Move As One said the President's move 'presents a golden opportunity for the government to shift away from services and infrastructure that favors the needs of the 6% of Filipinos who own private vehicles to the 94% who walk, ride public transportation, and pedal bicycles.' Marcos earlier announced his sweeping call for his Cabinet secretaries to submit their courtesy resignations after his pronouncement that the results of Eleksyon 2025 showed that the people are "tired of politics and they are disappointed with the government." With this, the group said that a whole-of-government approach is needed to fulfill the significant transportation policy in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028, that 'pedestrians and cyclists will be accorded highest priority in the hierarchy of road users.' The group also expressed support for Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon amid the President's call for his alter egos to submit courtesy resignations. 'I and colleagues from the Move As One Coalition have been supportive of Sec. Dizon and his team at the DOTr because of their prioritization of public transportation and vulnerable road users who are in the vast majority. There needs to be a conscious reorientation and transformation of services and infrastructure to favor these groups in the population so that we can have more livable communities and more sustainable, inclusive and efficient mobility everywhere, including for owners of motor vehicles,' said Robert Siy Jr., a co-convenor of Move As One. 'This means providing safe and attractive travel options apart from using a private motor vehicle,' added Siy. He said that the country needs its road and bridge infrastructure agency, the Department of Public Works and Highways, to also prioritize the travel of those without motor vehicles and to reflect this in the design and operations of all roads and bridges that they build as 'Filipinos are driven to car-dependency and motorcycle-dependency, which leaves all of us with ever-increasing heat, pollution and traffic on all our urban roads.' —Ted Cordero/RF, GMA Integrated News
