The Philippine government has stepped up efforts to enable cross-cutting mechanisms to ease investments, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Friday.

In a speech at the signing of the Letters of Intent (LOI)/agreements between the Philippines and Japan, the President said Japanese firms can expect reduced transaction costs in aspects of doing business in the Philippines “very soon.”

“We are mandating involved government agencies to establish a Green Lane. The lane will streamline the processing of permits and licenses,” the President pointed out.

The President noted prescribing a maximum of three working days for simple transactions, and 20 working days for highly technical transactions and offers a “single point of entry for strategic investments.”

On a national scale, the Philippine government has also built confidence in its eight-point Socioeconomic Agenda, which the President said reinforces the country’s steady recovery and high growth trajectory.

“We build our efforts around the intentions to further promote investments, improve infrastructure, achieve energy security, create jobs, and develop priority industries. I hope you will find it encouraging that our national priorities align with building enabling environments for companies like yours,” Marcos told the Japanese firms.

A total of 35 LOIs were signed between the Philippines and Japan as well as different business companies from both nations, covering a wide range of partnerships aimed at deepening foreign investor confidence.

These include manufacturing, infrastructure development, energy, transportation, healthcare, renewable energy, and business expansion, among other sectors.

The signing follows a day after the first bilateral meeting between President Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo. #