Passi City seen as recipient of economic devt’ program
Passi City is being eyed as the next stop of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) local and regional economic development program.
DTI Iloilo Director Wilhelm Malones said the agency will coordinate with the local government of Passi City to determine if they can still be accommodated before the year ends.
The program will attempt to assist local government units in coming up with their planning approach that serves as guide on what projects or programs to pursue to attract investments in their locality.
“This one is biased towards entrepreneurship because the focus is the use of raw materials and skills for labor generation,” he said.
The program started in 2008 in Eastern Visayas and was later implemented in Western and Central Visayas. The first recipient from the region was the municipality of Cabatuan.
“The process can result to projects like coming up with municipal investment incentives code, organization of business groups or doable projects that can be implemented in six months to one year,” Malones said.
Initially, he said the DTI is looking forward to work on the review of the investment incentives code of Passi and the creation of an investment board.
Malones also said he would suggest that the board should be proactive in selling the component city as a destination.
The program is being implemented in partnership with the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the local technical working group of the recipient-LGU. The DTI is also looking at working with the Department of Interior and Local Government.*PNA
