Bills boosting PHL shipbuilding filed in House

TWO measures seeking to revitalize the country’s shipbuilding industry were filed at the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

House Bill (HB) No. 2597 aims to boost the domestic shipbuilding sector through government support, including industry aid and research and development assistance, to help scale operations and reduce business costs.

Meanwhile, HB No. 2598 seeks to provide fiscal incentives to shipbuilding companies, like exempting them from value-added taxes and removing duties on the importation of capital equipment, which could help incentivize investments into the industry.

“It’s time to bring maritime jobs home for the sake of our maritime workers and our overall economy,” Party-list Rep. Nathaniel M. Oducado, who authored the bills, said in a statement.

The filing of the measures comes amid renewed foreign interest in the Philippine shipbuilding sector following the 2019 bankruptcy of South Korea’s Hanjin Heavy Industries.

South Korean HD Hyundai Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. and the Hanwha group have expressed desires to acquire Hanjin’s naval shipyard in Subic, Zambales province, Seoul’s BusinessKorea reported in April.

“These bills send a positive signal to both local and international shipbuilders that the Philippines is ready to be a leading destination for ship building and ship repair,” Maritime Industry Authority Administrator Sonia B. Malaluan said in the same statement. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio