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Investment Promotion Center in Caloocan

M E T R O F I L E

12/05/2008

The Caloocan City government is expecting to create “windows of opportunities” for local and foreign investments as it eyes the creation of an Investment Promotion Center. According to Mayor Enrico “Recom” Echiverri, the Caloocan City Investment Promotion Center will encourage local and foreign investments in the city and boost cooperation between city-based businesses and other companies. With the establishment of the center, the mayor said it will also act as an ambassador for Caloocan industries without the motive for profit. “As part of its objectives, the center will serve both as a cleaning house or central office for information by answering local or foreign inquiries concerning local government investment incentives, costs and referrals to the appropriate authorities,” he emphasized. Moreover, as a coordinating body, the center will help establish direct relations between local and foreign corporation, which will hopefully lead to investments or cooperative relationships, he added. Earlier, the city government, through its Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO) and the City Planning and Development Office, had conducted a series of capability building trainings on investments promotion in partnership with the Board of Investments of the Department of Trade and Industry. For her part, BPLO chief lawyer Melanie Soriano-Malaya said the training primarily aimed at orienting city government officials on investment strategies such as image-building, investment generation and investment servicing. Malaya added the training program also enhanced the skills of local executives and members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod on the preparation of Caloocan’s Local Investments and Incentives Code. The BPLO chief also urged prospective investors to consider the business potentials of the city, nothing that “Caloocan is relatively peaceful and strategically competitive; we are among the most business-friendly cities in the country, and we have the needed infrastructure support such as roads, telecommunications and other things.