Our recently concluded Philippine Investment Mission in Seoul showed Team Philippines at its best.
Philippine Ambassador to Korea H.E. Bernadette Fernandez and the Philippine Embassy gave the mission their full support. Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Seoul, led by Commercial Attaché Charmaine Yalong, brought exceptional energy and collaboration in connecting Philippine and Korean stakeholders. Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Theo Panga led our Philippine delegation, in partnership with private-sector partners including the Asian Consulting Group (a global), Aboitiz Economic Estates and BDO Unibank.
There is much to celebrate. But the strongest message from Seoul was also a challenge:
Korean companies are seriously looking at the Philippines for expansion, relocation and supply-chain diversification.
The opportunity is enormous—and it will not wait.
Korea is strong in semiconductors, electronics, advanced manufacturing, batteries, electric vehicles, renewable energy, infrastructure and digital technology. The Philippines offers talent, market access, strategic location and room to grow. South Korea was already our largest source of approved foreign investment in the first quarter of 2026, accounting for almost 60% of the total.
Our task is no longer simply to generate interest. It is to convert interest into factories, jobs, exports, technology transfer and reinvestment.
That requires more than competitive tax incentives.
CREATE MORE strengthened the Philippine value proposition. But capital also measures time, certainty and execution. Investors ask how quickly they can register, obtain permits, clear equipment through Customs, secure visas, receive VAT refunds and resolve tax disputes.
Every unnecessary delay is a cost. Every inconsistent interpretation is a risk. Every additional layer of bureaucracy gives another country an opportunity to win the investment.
RED CARPET, NOT RED TAPE
This is why PEZA must be modernized and further empowered.
PEZA should become the investor’s single accountable government partner throughout the investment life cycle—from inquiry and registration to construction, operations, expansion and reinvestment.
That means integrated digital processes, enforceable service standards, strategic-investment case managers and stronger authority to coordinate with the BIR, Customs, Immigration, local governments and other regulators.
But PEZA modernization should be only one part of a broader structural reform agenda.
First, modernize tax administration. We should seriously consider establishing a National Revenue Authority that integrates and eventually replaces the fragmented structures of the BIR and Bureau of Customs, supported by e-invoicing, artificial intelligence, data analytics and integrated government database.
Second, make enforcement risk-based rather than indiscriminate. Audit should concentrate scarce government resources on the highest-risk cases—not repeatedly burden compliant taxpayers. That means stronger scrutiny of unexplained wealth, high-net-worth individuals, major tax evasion, and companies or individuals connected to public officials, political dynasties or campaign donors where objective financial red flags exist. Political connections should neither trigger arbitrary investigations nor provide protection from legitimate, evidence-based enforcement.
Third, lift excessive bank secrecy barriers, with strong safeguards, judicial oversight and due process. Government cannot credibly pursue major tax evasion and unexplained wealth if legally relevant financial information remains effectively beyond the reach of legitimate investigation.
Fourth, adopt and implement the OECD global minimum tax, including an appropriate domestic minimum top-up tax, so the Philippines protects its own taxing rights while remaining competitive for genuine, substance-based investments.
Fifth, economic reform must empower Filipinos. We should increase middle-class take-home pay, address bracket creep and move toward a simpler and fairer personal income tax system. At the same time, MSMEs need simpler compliance, proportionate penalties, better access to financing and a flat tax regime that helps enterprises formalize, grow and eventually become suppliers to multinational companies.
This is not an anti-business enforcement agenda.
It is a pro-growth governance agenda.
ACGlobal is committed to working with government not only to promote the Philippines overseas, but to improve the environment investors encounter when they arrive—ease of doing business, economic and tax policy, tax compliance, dispute resolution and investor aftercare.
Investment missions must therefore become two-way conversations.
We promote the Philippines abroad. We listen to investors. We bring their experience home. And we turn recurring problems into policy reform.
That is how roadshows become investments.
That is how investments become jobs.
And that is how investor confidence becomes long-term national development.
Korea brings capital, technology and global supply chains. The Philippines brings talent, opportunity and a strategic platform for growth.
Now government must bring speed, certainty and credible institutions.
MORE PAY. MORE INVESTMENTS. BETTER GOVERNMENT.
Let’s MAKE IT HAPPEN IN THE PHILIPPINES!
