Attracting investments
BBM must really think so poorly of us to claim he made his recent Singapore F1 Grand Prix trip to bring in investments. Indeed, other presidents before him justified their expensive foreign junkets the same way and we always just rolled our eyes.
President Rodrigo Duterte's trip to Singapore for the F1 Grand Prix was touted as a move to attract investments. However, critics argue this claim is deceptive. Presidents before him have used similar justifications for pricey foreign trips, and the public usually overlooks them. During tough economic times, such attempts to mislead the public are particularly unpalatable.
Given the limited fiscal space, inadequate funding of vital needs has become a major concern. Since June 2022, President Rodrigo Duterte has made 47 foreign trips, with the government claiming to have generated P4.019 trillion (approximately $72.18 billion) in investment commitments across 148 projects. However, only about P1.1 trillion (P19 billion) has been "actualized" or operationalized.
The administration counts any project approved by the Philippine Export & Import Authority (PEZA) or the Bureau of Investments (BOI) as actualized, even if no physical infrastructure has been built. Many of the announced investment values are based on non-binding memorandums of understanding or letters of intent, which are not signed contracts.
A significant portion of the "actualized" investments comes from multinational companies already operating in the Philippines, rather than new foreign capital. Despite these issues, President Rodrigo Duterte could have focused on improving the country's investment climate instead. Other nations like Vietnam provide a more conducive environment for foreign investors, with streamlined bureaucratic processes and attractive economic incentives.
Foreign investors entering Vietnam can quickly break ground on factories, while investors in the Philippines face high power costs, bureaucratic delays, and logistical challenges. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) shows a significant decline in net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. In 2025, FDI contracted to $8.122 billion, down from $4.071 billion in the first seven months of 2026.
Even with initiatives like the "Green Lanes" policy, actual physical construction of factories remains delayed, often for years. The actualized investment dollars are mostly confined to expanding existing Japanese electronics factories and constructing tech data centers and solar/wind farms. Foreign firms operating in the Philippines are also reducing their investments.
This decline in investments from foreign companies is attributed to lower debt instrument issuances. As a result, the Philippines is becoming less attractive to investors despite these high-profile presidential trips. Efforts such as Pax Silica, a geo-economic initiative by the US and allied nations, aim to de-risk critical technology sectors from China. However, critics question its impact on the domestic realities that hinder investment growth.
Written by urgent.news from Philippine Star Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
