By Brian Campued
The government is committed to sustaining the growth of the semiconductor and electronics (S and E) industry in the country, Malacañang said Tuesday, describing the sector as both an “employment leader and economic winner.”
According to Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, the S and E industry accounted for almost three-fifths of export receipts and directly and indirectly employed 3 million workers.
“[The] government must maximize the S and E industry, because this industry can maximize the country,” Recto said during the meeting of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industry Advisory Council (SEIAC) in Malacañang on Monday.
In a news release Tuesday, Recto assured that the government’s tasks outlined in the Philippine Semiconductor and Electronics Industry (PSEI) Roadmap for the S and E industry will be “fully and forcefully complied with.”
He also expressed support for initiatives to boost the industry, including expansion in integrated circuit design and advanced packaging, with the long-term goal of establishing wafer fabrication capability in the Philippines.
The government is likewise pushing for the creation of at least three national laboratories with distinct areas of specialization that will serve as central hubs for research and collaboration among industry stakeholders and the academe.
Recto stressed that the progress of the industry roadmap “will be closely and consistently monitored for both progress and problems.”
“Let us adopt it with discipline. Let us attach deadlines. Let us assign responsibilities clearly. Let us identify which reforms require legislation, which need executive action, which need budget support, and which can be done immediately,” he said.
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