1M jobs a year to put PHL on track – investments head

On its trading road map, the first signpost that the country is right on track is the creation of a million jobs a year until 2016, the country’s investments head on Thursday said. Board of Investments (BOI) managing head Cristino Panlilio said the government can quantify its success "in terms of employment capabilities." The road map that the Trade Department crafted sets a 10-percent gross national product (GNP) expansion this year. The department implements the road map in partnership with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority. "If we can create more jobs, we can increase the per capita income," Panlilio explained. Panlilio said this year’s target GNP could be achieved with the help of good prospects in business process outsourcing, public-private partnership projects, overseas Filipino workers' remittances, and foreign direct investments. The BOI aims to increase the share of foreign investments to half of its approvals, according to Panlilio. Government records show that of the P302-billion worth of projects registered with the BOI last year, only P22 billion were commitments from foreign investors. Panlilio said the BOI plans to attract more investments from the US, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, and from the European Union. DTI Undersecretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. said his department is aiming at an annual 13-percent increase in the country's exports until 2016 by intensifying trade relations with Canada, Brazil, Russia, India, and China. — JE/PE/VS, GMANews.TV