THE government should give incentives to local manufacturers of construction materials so that the sector can better supply the domestic market, an industry group said.
The Philippine Constructors Association (PCA) on Wednesday, Nov. 1, said this after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered that domestic building materials be used in construction projects.
PCA executive director Ibarra Paulino said that at present, local manufacturers right now cannot completely supply the needs of the Philippine market and must still rely on some imports.
To remedy this, the government needs to support local manufacturers and develop more manufacturing plants, he said.
“We have abundant natural resources. The sad part is that our natural resources are being transported to other countries and they come back as finished materials and we need to pay more,” Paulino said in an interview with ANC.
He said that imports can also be cheaper than locally manufactured.
“We really need to give incentives to the manufacturers so that their prices can be competitive.” (ABS-CBN News)/PN
