President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said Monday that the opening of a battery plant in Tarlac province could bring more investors for the Philippines’ renewable energy landscape.
In New Clark City, Tarlac, Marcos led the inauguration of StB Giga Factory, which is dubbed as the Philippines’ first manufacturing plant for advanced Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries.
Marcos highlighted the importance of the investment, saying that the Philippines is ready to innovate and lead in becoming a destination for high-impact investments.
“As the first manufacturing plant in the Philippines for advanced iron phosphate batteries, often used in renewable energy and electrical vehicles, the StB Giga Factory sets the stage for the Philippines to become a player in clean energy storage in our part of the world, in Southeast Asia, in our region,” he said in his speech.
Funded by Australia-based venture capital firm StB Capital Partners (St Baker), the Giga Battery Manufacturing Plant will create around 2,500 direct and indirect jobs for Filipinos once they reach their full production capacity by 2030.
Of these number, around 500 will be focused on hiring Filipino engineering, technical, finance, and administrative personnel.
The StB Giga is seen to pour over P5 billion annually into the local economy, with contributions coming from businesses, suppliers, and partners benefiting from their operations.
Aside from generating jobs, Marcos said the facility runs in tandem with the Philippines’ renewable energy landscape.
“Your products could help entice more investors in renewable energy facilities in the country. ?The upstream and the downstream businesses that will come from this are just going to be tremendous,” he said.
Marcos also welcomed the StB Giga’s plan to enter the EV product market in the coming years.
“This certainly aligns with our plans to develop the country’s EV industry and produce locally-made EVs and EV components, reducing our reliance on imported fuel,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Paniqui, Marcos distributed a total of 4,663 Certificates of Condonation and Release of Mortgage (COCROMs) to 3,527 agrarian reform beneficiaries.
The Department of Agrarian Reform aims to distribute certificates to as many as 300,000 ARBs by 2025.
