Marcos urged to renew BIMPEAGA travel tax exemption

The House of Representatives on Tuesday adopted a resolution urging President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to renew the grant of a travel tax exemption to travelers departing from all international airports and seaports in Mindanao and Palawan to any destination in Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

The committee fact sheet prepared by the House Special Committee on East ASEAN Growth Area recalled that travel tax exemption granted to all passengers originating from Mindanao and Palawan, by air and/or by sea, to any destination within the BIMP-EAGA by then-President Rodrigo Duterte through Mem- orandum Order No. 23 in 2018 shall expire in May 2023.

“For reasons of national interest and in order to sustain and accelerate economic development in Mindanao and Palawan, it is vital, reasonable and proper for the national government to renew the policy that grants travel tax exemption for a period of five (5) years, subject to review and overall assessment and impact analysis on the returns to the national government as basis for possible further extension,” House Resolution 454 read.

The fact sheet noted that among member countries, only the Philippines collects travel tax on its outbound international travels.

“It runs counter to the sub-regional objective of promoting the connectivity and accessibility of the EAGA focus areas as well as facilitating freer movement of people, goods and services,” the resolution read.

DTI sets up 111 OTOP stores to boost MSMEs

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it has opened a total of 111 One Town, One Product (OTOP) stores nationwide as of Tuesday.

The DTI told reporters in a message that 22 of these stores were established from January 2022 to February this year.

“These were established in partnership with external partners such as Alagang Ayala and CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines) who provided rent-free spaces for some OTOP hubs,” it said.

OTOP is a priority stimulus program of the DTI for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in different regions in the country.

This aims to promote products and services unique to the culture, community resources and competitive advantage of a locality. Products and services offered in OTOP hubs are those that localities are best known for.

On Monday, the Senate approved Senate Bill No. 1594, or the OTOP Philippines Act of 2023, which institutionalizes providing of package assistance for MSMEs with viable products for OTOP hubs.

The upper house also ap-