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The Maritime Industry Authority called on the shipbuilding and ship repair sector to show support to bills aiming to modernize the industry, which will finally be tackled in the Lower House Committee on Trade and Industry starting August 11
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MARINA legislative liaison Arvin Buenaagua said industry players need take a leading role in pushing for the industry’s growth
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Buenaagua noted that other government agencies such as the Department of Finance have not been responsive to MARINA’s request for inputs to be submitted to Congress because the sector itself appears to be “lacking in leadership”
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At this point, Buenaagua said SBSR players need to stand up for the industry’s development and “speak to the legislators”
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There are six bills on SBSR development that are pending before the Lower House Committees on Trade and Industry, and Transportation
The Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) called on the shipbuilding and ship repair (SBSR) sector to show support to bills aiming to modernize the industry, which will finally be tackled in the Lower House Committee on Trade and Industry starting August 11.
The bills are scheduled for deliberation by the committee chaired by Mountain Province lone district representative Maximo Dalog Jr., said MARINA legislative liaison Arvin Buenaagua in a presentation during the recent 11th Philmarine 2026.
Buenaagua said this is significant because through the committee, relevant government agencies such as the Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Budget and Management, and Board of Investments, will be compelled to submit their comments to the proposed legislation.
READ: PH 2026 investment priority plan covers logistics, shipbuilding
He explained that MARINA has been in close coordination with these agencies since last year to get their comments and ensure the SBSR bill “will be a priority legislation” as directed by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
He noted that Marcos in January 2024 directed agencies to give inputs to make the proposed SBSR Development Bill a priority legislation, but “one of the challenges that we had faced in liaising with legislators is that the agencies are not interested in responding to us.”
He noted that DOF, in particular, has not submitted inputs on the proposed measures.
Buenaagua said they attribute this to a lack of push from the sector itself as it seems to be “lacking in leadership.”
“Why are they going to be invested in responding to our letters requesting for their comments if the beneficiaries themselves are silent? If in the meetings, they are not in the meetings, if the shipyards are not invested in pushing for the bill. That’s one of the challenges,” Buenaagua said.
At this point, he said it would good for the SBSR industry to “speak to the legislators” and convey their support to the proposed laws.
READ: MARINA renews push for ship registry, shipbuilding bills as priority
Relatedly, MARINA in August 2025 conducted stakeholders’ forums to push for and gather support for the passage of the SBSR development and ship registry bills. Manifestos of support for the bills were also signed by various stakeholders during the forums.
MARINA is pushing for the SBSR Development Bill, which aims to employ a whole-of-government approach to create a policy environment conducive for the overall development of the industry, as well as the SBSR Fiscal Incentives Bill, which aims to amend the country’s fiscal policy to provide companies incentives to invest in the SBSR industry.
Currently, there are six bills on SBSR development that are pending before the House of Representatives.
Ilocos Norte 2nd district representative Angelo Barba and Oriental Mindoro 1st district representative Arnan Panaligan filed House Bill (HB) Nos. 1718 and 134, respectively, both titled the Shipbuilding Development Act of 2025. Trabaho Party List representative Johanne Monich Bautista also filed HB 4438, or the Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Act of 2025. 1Tahanan Party List representative Nathaniel Oducado also filed HB 2598, or the SBSR Development Act of 2025.
These bills have been referred to the Committee on Trade and Industry.
Dalog also filed HB 9180, or the SBSR Development Act of 2026, which, together with HB 8183, or the Shipbuilding Development Act filed by Cagayan de Oro 2nd district representative Rufus Rodriguez and Abante Mindanao (ABAMIN) party list representative Maximo Rodriguez Jr., are pending with the Committee on Transportation, according to the Lower House website.
For the past years, the Philippines has been recognized as one of the top shipbuilding nations in the world but based on MARINA’s assessment, nearly 66% of the country’s shipyard facilities need rehabilitation.
Of the total, 95% of shipyards do local repair and maintenance and only 5% conduct shipbuilding for the export market and these are mostly large and foreign-owned yards. Majority of Class B and C shipyards in the country are also outdated and underfunded.
READ: PH shipyards’ output up 2.2% in 2025
MARINA said the SBSR development and fiscal incentives bills, when enacted, will jumpstart the maritime industry by unlocking capital investment in SBSR and driving sustainable growth across related sectors.
According to estimates by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Bank, each direct job in shipbuilding creates three to five more indirect jobs, meaning that once fully-implemented, these bills have the potential to generate up to 100,000 direct and indirect jobs nationwide.
Moreover, MARINA said a developed SBSR industry will bolster the domestic shipping sector’s capacity to support agriculture, manufacturing, national defense and inter-island trade. It will also enhance disaster resilience and national food and supply chain security.— Roumina Pablo
