STATEMENT OF SENATOR SHERWIN GATCHALIAN ON THE MARCH FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT REPORT

The latest foreign direct investment (FDI) report strengthens our case for the need to reform the country's relatively restrictive and less competitive economic policies. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show that the FDI net inflows in March 2019 declined 13.9% to $586 million from the $681 million recorded in the same month last year. Meanwhile, the latest United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's (UNCTAD) 2019 World Investment Report on special economic zones shows that while annual FDI flows to Southeast Asia went up 3% to a record $149 billion last year, inflows to the Philippines and Malaysia declined.

During the 17th Congress, we championed liberalization reforms that we believe would build an inclusive, efficient, and competitive business environment in the Philippines. We pushed for measures including those amending the Foreign Investments Act of 1991, the Public Service Act, and the Retail Liberalization Act, among others. Unfortunately, we did not have the luxury of time to pass these bills before Congress adjourned sine die.

This coming 18th Congress, we will be putting greater focus on implementing legislative reforms that will help break down barriers that foreign investors face in the country. These changes are long overdue - we need laws that are responsive to the needs of the domestic economy and accommodate the dynamics of the regional and global environment.