By Ben R. Rosario
Lawmakers have slammed the Board of Investments for the stunted growth of the country’s car development program, saying that its inability to set clear cut rules to guide investors and questionable decisions on issues affecting the industry is to blame.
At the hearing of the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Deputy Speaker Sharon Garin (AAMBIS-OWA partylist) went as far as publicly airing suspicions that the BoI harbors biases against non-Japanese local assemblers and new players in the industry.
On the other hand, Reps. Lyndia Bolilia (NPC, Batangas); Rodel Batocabe (Ako Bicol party-list), and Manuel Zubiri (NUP, Bukidnon) warned that unless government clears all gray areas in the implementation of rules and regulations of the Motor Vehicle Development Program, the country will continue to lag behind its Association of Southeast Asian Nations neighbors in local automotive manufacturing.
Chaired by Quirino Rep. Dax Cua, the ways and means panel have launched an investigation into the reported BoI move to cancel the authority granted to Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. to participate in the MVDP, allegedly for failing to comply with requirements set under Executive Order 156.