THE PRESIDENT has ordered the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to draft a list of construction materials required by the infrastructure program ahead of the imposition of a buy-local policy on such building materials, the Palace said.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. was acting on the recommendation of advisors to make domestic building materials preferred for use in the infrastructure program, according to a statement issued by Malacañang.
Following a meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council’s (PSAC) infrastructure cluster, Mr. Marcos ordered the DTI to compile the list of building materials, in collaboration with the PSAC.
Mr. Marcos also ordered the Department of Budget and Management, through the Government Procurement Policy Board, to operationalize the “policy of giving preference to local materials” through procurement guidelines.
“The chief executive stressed the need to specify which materials will be procured by the government to avoid any conflict in the future,” the Palace said.
The PSAC advised Mr. Marcos that Philippine manufacturers make cement, steel and other building materials that conform with national standards, and are “designed to withstand the country’s climate and other natural disasters.”
“Our advocacy is really to promote our buy local, Filipino-made products for Filipinos,” PSAC head and Aboitiz Group CEO Sabin M. Aboitiz was quoted as saying. “It’s just fair for our government to take the lead in also patronizing our own locally made product.”
Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual was at the meeting, along with PSAC members Joanne De Asis, founder of Globe Capital Partners LLC; Manuel V. Pangilinan, CEO of PLDT Inc.; Eric Ramon O. Recto, chairman of Philippine Bank of Communications, Inc.; Enrique K. Razon, president of International Container Terminal Services, Inc.; Ramoncito S. Fernandez, CEO of Maynilad Water Services, Inc.; and Reinier H. Dizon, president of the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza