Through a motion by Ms. Maria Florence Valera of IGACOS, and seconded by Ms. Rebecca Mercado of Kapalong, members of the Davao del Norte Investment Incentives Board (DDNIIB) finally approved the revised Investment Incentives Code of the Province of Davao del Norte, in a meeting called for the purpose last July 20, 2023 at the Conference Room of the Provincial Governor’s Office.

The provincial government enacted the Investments and Incentives Code to lay down the provincial policies and programs on investments for a more enabling business environment. It recognizes the private sector as its primary and indispensable partner for economic growth and development, and that it shall extend fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to stimulate the establishment and assist initial operations of enterprises. Further, it will serve to provide local and foreign investors with a ready reference on various fiscal and non-fiscal incentives being made available by the provincial government, which will assist investors in deciding on which incentives option is more advantageous in starting and growing their business.

The code was successfully revised after several attempts at updating it have failed due to the Covid19 epidemic which struck the country in 2020, and the following years thereafter. Having to convene the members of the Board during the pandemic years was difficult due to restrictions imposed on face-to-face gatherings. The province’s investment incentives code was enacted in 2014 and was supposedly reviewed, updated, and revised every five (5) years thereafter.

The Davao del Norte Investment Incentives Board is composed of the Governor as the Chairperson, the Federation President of the Davao del Norte Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DDNCCII) as the Vice-Chairperson, the Chairpersons of the Committee on Trade, Commerce and Industry, and the Committee on Ways and Means in the Provincial Council, the Provincial Administrator, and the respective Presidents of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the eleven (11) local government units of the province, as Members of the Board.

Much of the focus on revision is concentrated on the fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, as this area is normally vulnerable to changes in the socio-economic and political arena. Having been approved at their level, the DDNIIB will then issue a resolution endorsing the Revised Investment Incentives Code to the honorable Governor, for the latter’s endorsement to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for ratification.

The board meeting was presided over by its Vice-Chairperson Mr. Rene Bongabong, the Federation President of the DDNCCII, and was facilitated by the office of the Provincial Administrator’s Office-Cooperative and Investment Development Division (PADO-CIDD, headed by Ms. Joevynar M. Miedes, and LIIC focal person Ms. Maria Margarita Pilegro. jb/padocidd