Reelected Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda has praised the appointment of international development banker Alfredo Pascual as Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) secretary under the administration of President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
Read more here:
https://mb.com.ph/2022/05/26/the-marcos-cabinet-fred-pascual-department-of-trade-and-industry/
https://mb.com.ph/2022/05/26/marcos-names-his-dof-dti-secretaries-bares-pick-for-dpwh-post/
"For example, Pascual led UP (the University of the Philippines) through the creation of the Philippine Genome Center, which was to prove critical to our Covid-19 response, and which will be even more important as we face more biosafety and health threats," Salceda said on Thursday, May 26.
"He also directed the creation of the Creative Industries Development Plan for UP, which was essentially a 'Build, Build, Build' for the creatives, an idea I have also championed in House Bill (HB) No.10613. Pascual also have extensive experience in both the academe and management," the Bicol solon added.
Pascual formerly served as president and regent of UP.
He also served as governor of the Management Association of the Philippines and a trustee of the non-profit Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD).
"Pascual’s well-demonstrated foresight will be key to leading the DTI. I particularly wish to engage him more closely in industrial planning in relation to the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises or CREATE Law. That is our main tax instrument for industrial policy, but we need an entire vision and plan around it. PRRD (President Rodrigo Duterte) has just issued the EO (Executive Order) approving the Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP), the country’s list of priority economic activities eligible for government tax and fiscal incentives under CREATE," he added.
"But based on my agreement with the DTI, this will just be a transitional list, and we need a more comprehensive list accompanied by a comprehensive plan. Fred Pascual will have a strong grip on the future industries we need to create. So, I expect we will continue to work on a plan that uses those tax incentives, but also sees the role of trade promotion, non-tax incentives, government policy support, and other key ingredients in creating new industries and strengthening incumbent ones," Salceda continued.
Marcos announced Pascual's Cabinet appointment and acceptance last May 26.