President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is looking forward to purchasing locally manufactured building materials that will be used for future infrastructure projects of the government.

In a meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Infrastructure Cluster, Marcos welcomed the council’s recommendation as he recognized the importance of giving preference and priority to locally manufactured building materials.

Marcos said the proposal forwarded by PSAC, headed by businessman Sabin Aboitiz, is a step towards the right direction as preference and priority in the procurement of government projects should be given to local products that meet the specified or desired quality.

Marcos ordered the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to closely coordinate with the PSAC in coming up with the list of specific construction materials that can be used for government infrastructure projects.

The President also ordered the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), through the Government Procurement Policy Board, to complement the policy of giving preference to local materials through relevant guidelines, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations.

The chief executive stressed the need to specify which materials will be procured by the government to avoid any conflict in the future.

“We have to match the capacity and the demand. But again, that if you can say that from now on, 100 percent of our – comes from the Philippines, magtatayo ng planta ‘yan but we need to make everything clear, kung AO (Administrative Order) iyan or some other form,” Marcos said, referring to efforts to enhance local products.

Members of the PSAC asked the government’s support to patronize the local industry as they emphasized that the Philippines have a lot of talents and products that are world-class quality, “if not at par even better” from its neighboring countries.

Particularly, the PSAC assured President Marcos that local manufacturing industries are producing cement, steel and other construction materials that conform with the Philippine national standard designed to withstand the country’s climate and other natural disasters.

“Our advocacy is really to promote our buy local, Filipino-made products for Filipinos … it’s just fair for our government to take the lead, sir, in also patronizing our own locally-made products,” Aboitiz said.

Trade and Industry Secretary Fred Pascual informed the PSAC that the government has been supporting the “buy local, go local policy” which aims to promote local products in the country. Presidential News Desk