President challenges government agencies, private sector to work
together
CEBU
CITY, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has called on the
government agencies and the private sector to come together to develop the
steel industry in the Philippines.
Marcos
said this in his speech during the inauguration of a steel plant in Compostela
town in northern Cebu on Tuesday, July 9.
He
said that “the government and private sector has to do more to develop the
industry further” since “steel is the backbone of many industries and many
industries depend on steel for their further development.”
The
President said that at present, the Philippines is the only country among the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) who does not have its own
integrated steel mill. “Thus, there is limited production of certain steel
products as the country still imports basic raw materials.”
“To
support our social and economic growth, I encourage everyone to work with us in
addressing the remaining supply chain gaps in the steel industry.I invite all
stakeholders to pursue more investments aimed at reducing, if not eliminating,
the limited raw materials situation,” he added.
With
this, Marcos has called on the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as the
leading agency to work on it, together with the Department of Energy (DOE) “and
other agencies and stakeholders to resolve the industry’s concerns regarding
high power and logistics costs, which make up the bulk of its production plants
inputs.”
Marcos
then said that he looked forward to the DTI and DOE along with the other
agencies to formulate and submit to him a concrete and feasible plan to improve
the country’s steel trade balance for the following years.
The
President also told DTI to update the iron and steel roadmap “to ensure its
continued stability and relevance amidst domestic and global challenges and
trends.”
“By
localizing the production of basic steel products, we contribute to the
generation of more inclusive and sustainable opportunities, the diversification
of our steel industry, and the stability of our economy,” he said.
Aside
from the government agencies, Marcos also urged all the stakeholders “to pursue
more investments aimed at reducing, if not eliminating, the limited raw
materials situation” for the country’s social and economic growth.
“I
encourage everyone to work with us in addressing the remaining supply chain
gaps in the steel industry,” he said.
Marcos
also said that there still much “needs to be done [toward] achieving a reliable
supply chain that will give birth to a new and integrated manufacturing
[industries].”
He
added that once the steel plant in Compostela would become fully operational,
it would have an annual production capacity of one million tons of rebar,
making it the country’s largest steel plant.
The
event was attended by the proponents of the steel plant and its employees,
Compostela municipal officials and stakeholders, and DTI Secretary, Secretary
Fred Pascual, among others.