President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Friday morning led the inauguration of the expanded manufacturing facility of local petrochemical company JG Summit Olefins Corporation in Batangas City.

Upon his arrival, the President was given a tour of the P150 billion manufacturing complex that spans 160 hectares and is the nation’s largest wholly-owned petrochemical investment, housing the first and only naptha cracker plant in the country.

“What have you built here is more than a cutting-edge tech. It is a testament to Filipino skill, a proof of business confidence, an example of manufacturing resurgence.”

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In his speech, the President thanked the Gokongwei group for building what he calls “a key plank in the manufacturing renaissance that will revitalize domestic industry and scale up competitiveness.”

The plant produces essential ingredients in products such as packaging for food, fibers for clothing, and components in transport vehicles, among others.

“It is among the lynchpins of our industrialization, a vital link in moving up the value chain, and guarantees the supply of a critical production ingredient.”

The President says the company, which directly and indirectly employs 6,200 individuals, is also a major contributor to an industry that is forecasted to enrich the Philippine economy by P215 billion next year.

The President in his speech also mentioned his appointments of former Batangas congressman and now Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, and Special Assistant for Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go, who was former CEO of Robinsons Land.

Marcos said Recto and Go will continue to create a climate that propels economic growth, boosts incentives, promotes ease of doing business, and funds high-impact infrastructure.

“The bottom line of their assigned mission is this: To reduce red tape that chokes industry and innovation and replace it with a red carpet that ushers in capital, foreign and domestic, and provides the path towards progress,” Marcos said.

“This is the government’s mandatory equity to provide participation in national growth. It is my firm belief that the government should not be a yoke on the back of business, like taxing them heavily, and tightly regulating their growth, making the ease of doing business a sticking point for possible investors.”

• Lance Gokongwei takes over as Robinsons Land president, CEO
• JG Summit net income soars to P9.5B in first half of 2023