Abalos credits PBBM, Congress for CREATE MORE law
ALYANSA Para sa Pagbabago senatorial aspirant Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. lauded the recent signing of Republic Act No. 12066, or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Act, saying the law is a “big boost for the economy.”
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday signed into law Republic Act No. 12066, one of his priority legislative agenda.
Abalos, widely credited for Mandaluyong’s progress during his tenure as mayor, emphasized that CREATE MORE will address a major barrier to foreign direct investment, which is high electricity costs.
“With the Philippines having the highest electricity rates in Southeast Asia, RA 12066 will address a major deterrent for locators and investors by providing them additional deductions to offset the high electricity costs in the country,” Abalos said.
He cited that in the Philippines, the average cost of electricity is USD 0.18 or PHP 11.00 per kilowatt-hour, compared to USD 0.10 in Indonesia, USD 0.08 in Vietnam, and USD 0.03 in Malaysia.
The former secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, who topped a performance survey among Cabinet officials, said having reliable electricity is critical in the government’s bid to attract more investments to create more jobs and improve the economy.
“A key question is, why is electricity so expensive, and why do some areas still lack reliable power supply? Reliable electricity is a necessity for our people and a critical factor for investment,” Abalos said.
He recalled that when he was DILG Secretary, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) came to him with a major problem, saying they couldn’t install transmission lines in some parts of the country because of permit delays, some taking up to 10 years.
Advocating for reliable supply of electricity in the countryside, Abalos created a committee to tackle this, and within six months, they were able assist NGCP in addressing the delays and setting up about 20 transmission lines in Mindanao.
Abalos also commended the efforts of Congress, particularly House Speaker Martin Romualdez and Senate President Francis Escudero, for prioritizing CREATE MORE.
RA 12066 also address bureaucratic red tape as it introduces provisions that will expedite VAT refunds and streamline documentation requirements to facilitate release of VAT refund claims, according to Abalos.
“What is important is the law sets a clear timeline for the application and appeal process for VAT refunds,” Abalos said.
The CREATE MORE Act imposes a 20-day deadline for the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) and Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) to respond to applications for tax incentives, improving processing efficiency.
As mayor of Mandaluyong, Abalos transformed the city into the “Tiger City of the Philippines” in 2002, just eight years after it became a chartered city, by focusing on ease of doing business and cutting red tape to attract investors.
