The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is doing everything to provide job opportunities for Filipinos as it continues to woo local and foreign investors, a government official said on Saturday.

“Patuloy po kaming nangangalap ng mga investment leads sa iba't-ibang countries, local po and foreign investments para po magkaroon po tayo, makagawa po tayo ng mas marami pang trabaho dito sa Pilipinas,” Evariste Cagatan, Board of Investments (BOI) Executive Director for Investments Promotion Services, said in a media forum in Quezon City.

The BOI official said P463 billion worth of investments has been approved during the first quarter of this year.

“This is already more than 40 percent of our original target for approval for the year na one trillion pesos,” she said.

Cagatan pointed out that Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual has raised the target to P1.5 trillion.

The BOI official said most of the investments that are coming in are on renewable energy and on manufacturing.

“And iyong renewable energy napaka importante po iyan sa panahong ito dahil nga gusto ho natin ng green economy. At saka iyong mga investors po ngayon, hinahanap nila kung saan sila pwedeng mag-invest wherein masasagot nila iyong kanilang ESG (Environmental, Social Governance) goals. So iyon po ‘yung offer ng Philippines na kung dito sila maglo-locate, we can help them and support their ESG goals because iyong RE energy is available here,” the BOI official explained.

Cagatan noted that Marcos is personally monitoring the investment pledges that were secured during his recent trips.

“So, patuloy po kaming nagtatrabaho para dumami pa iyong ating investment approvals, investment pledges ay maging totoo… Ang Pangulo po, talagang binabantayan niya, mino-monitor niya iyong mga pledges na ito na binigay sa kanya," Cagatan pointed out.

"So tinitingnan namin ano ho iyong mga balakid or nagpapasagabal bakit hindi kaagad makapasok. So iyon ‘yung mga tinitingnan namin at tinutulungan ho namin iyong mga investors sa mga problema po nila,” Cagatan said.

Based on the report of the DTI and the Office of the Presidential Assistant on Investment and Economic Affairs, the Marcos administration has secured $4.349 billion (approximately P239 billion) worth of investments, which are now undergoing the implementation stage.

Of these investment projects, a total of $29.712 billion (approximately P1.7 trillion) are in the form of memoranda of understanding (MOU) and Letters of Intent (LOI).

A total of $28.863 billion or P1.5 trillion worth of investment projects are now in the planning stages.

Government data also showed that the Marcos administration has secured a total of P3.48 trillion (approximately $62.926 billion) from the President’s trip to China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the United States and Belgium. Presidential News Desk