The Philippine government is expected to further ease foreign restrictions on eight investment areas or activities to improve competitiveness and to attain higher economic growth.

In Memorandum Order No. 16 signed on November 21, President Rodrigo Duterte directed the National Economic and Development Authority Board and its member agencies to exert "utmost efforts" to lift or ease restrictions on certain investment areas or activities with limited foreign participation.

Duterte issued the Order "to raise the Philippines' level of competitiveness, and to foster higher economic growth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region and beyond through joint endeavors in the spirit of equality and partnership."

The areas or activities, which the government considers to lift or ease foreign restrictions include private recruitment, whether for local or overseas employment; practice of particular profession, where allowing foreign participation will redound to the public benefit; and contracts for the construction and repair of locally-funded public works.

Duterte ordered NEDA to also look into the public services, except activities and systems that are recognized as public utilities such as transmission and distribution of electricity, water pipeline distribution system, and sewerage pipeline system; and culture, production, milling, processing, and trading except retailing, of rice and corn and acquiring by barter, purchase or otherwise, rice and corn and the by-products.

Other areas, which Duterte wants to further liberalize are teaching at higher education levels; retail trade enterprises; and domestic market enterprises.

"The members of the NEDA Board are hereby directed to earnestly support, in a coordinated manner, such legislative efforts as may be necessary to eliminate or relax the aforesaid restrictions, including pending legislation seeking to clarify the definition of public utilities," the memorandum read.

Duterte also directed the NEDA Board to immediately advise him regarding those restrictions on foreign participation which may already be lifted or eased without need of legislation, with the aim of amending the Tenth Regular Foreign Investment Negative List under Executive Order No. 184 (s. 2015), in accordance with the objectives of the Order. Celerina Monte/DMS