Statement of Speaker Lord Allan Velasco on the ratification of CREATE by the House of Representatives

House of Representatives PR

The ratification of the proposed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act puts the Philippines in a better position to attract fresh money and make our economy more appealing as an investment destination.

This latest reform to our fiscal regime lowers the corporate income taxes and provides incentives to businesses, therefore providing much-needed relief to our investors—whether big or small—severely impacted by the ongoing global health crisis. One important feature of this reform measure is to exempt from VAT and other duties the importation of COVID-19 vaccines, personal protective equipment or PPE, and treatment and clinical trial drugs, among others.

The Philippines has the highest corporate income tax rates in Southeast Asia, and with CREATE, we can expect our country to be as competitive as our neighbors.

With the approval of CREATE together with our efforts to amend the restrictive economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution, we are confident that we can hasten our economic recovery, attract more local and foreign investors and create jobs for the Filipino people.

We thank our colleagues in both chambers of Congress for ratifying this measure and for heeding the call of the times.

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