Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual assured biotech companies of ease of doing business in the country and tax incentives as he pushed for more innovative industries to address food security and improve the country’s participation in global value chains.
These firms may avail of tax incentives and perks under Republic Act 11534 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act. Biotech-enabled activities related to food security and R&D activities on modern biotech or its commercialization are considered Tier II and Tier III activities, enabling these projects to enjoy a better set of incentives such as an income tax holiday of at least 5 years.
“In our common goal to build and grow globally competitive and innovative Philippine industries, biotech industry development is a common aspiration,” he said noting that through biotech, the country can realize cross-cutting industry transformation and modernization in, among others, the fields of agriculture, food manufacturing, energy, medicine, pharmaceutical, biomaterials, and bioengineering.
Aside from creating novel diagnostics, vaccines, and combatting debilitating and rare diseases, biotechnology breakthroughs can reduce the country’s environmental footprint; feed the hungry; use less and cleaner energy; and make industrial manufacturing processes safer, cleaner, and more efficient. Biotech even cuts across the DTI priority industry clusters from Industrial, Manufacturing and Transport , to Health and Life Sciences , to Modern Basic Needs and Resilient Economy.
Aside from enhancing crop production and performance, shortening crop varietal development, and improving livestock production, biotech also produces bio-fertilizers and biofuels from agricultural waste, a climate-change adaptation measure.