Marcos issues negative list for foreign investments

April 17, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has issued an executive order (EO) promulgating the 13th regular foreign investment negative list, which specifies the areas or activities open to foreign investors and those reserved only to Filipino nationals.

EO 113 superseded the 12th regular foreign investment negative list approved in 2022 by former president Rodrigo Duterte.

The EO cited a recommendation by the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev), which cited the need to amend the list to reflect changes to negative lists A and B, pursuant to existing laws and in line with the policy to ease restrictions on foreign participation in certain investment areas or activities.

List A contains activities and areas whose foreign ownership is limited by mandate of the Constitution and specific laws. List B, meanwhile, refers to activities and areas whose foreign ownership is regulated for security, defense, health risk and moral reasons and for the protection of small and medium scale-enterprises.

Under List A, among the areas where no foreign equity is allowed are mass media, except recording and internet business; corporate practice of architecture; cooperatives, except investments of former natural-born citizens of the Philippines; private security agency; small-scale mining; use of marine resources, as well as small-scale utilization of natural resources in rivers, lakes, bays, and lagoons; ownership, operation, and management of cockpits; manufacture, repair, stockpiling, and/or distribution of nuclear weapons; manufacture, repair, stockpiling and/or distribution of biological, chemical and radiological weapons and anti-personnel mines; and manufacture and retail of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic devices.

The areas or activities where up to 25 percent foreign equity is allowed are private recruitment, whether for local or overseas employment; and contracts for the construction of defense-related structures. Up to 30 percent foreign equity is allowed for advertising.

A 40 percent foreign equity cap is imposed on retail trade enterprise with paid-up capital of less than P25 million; exploration, development and use of natural resources; and renewable energy, such as solar wind, hydro and ocean or tidal energy, where full foreign participation is allowed; ownership of private lands, except a natural-born citizen who has lost his or her Philippine citizenship and who has the legal capacity to enter into a contract under Philippine laws; operation of public utilities; educational institutions other than those established by religious groups and mission boards, for foreign diplomatic personnel and their dependents, and other foreign temporary residents or for short-term high level skills development that do not form part of the formal education system; culture, production, milling, processing and trading, except retailing, of rice and corn; government procurement of goods; infrastructure projects, in cases where the structures to be built require the application of techniques or technologies which are not adequately possessed by Filipino entities, foreign ownership or interest is allowed up to 75 percent; government procurement of consulting services; operation of commercial fishing vessels and ownership of condominium units.

Up to 100 percent foreign equity is permitted in the operation and management of telecommunications in case the country of the foreign national accords reciprocity to Philippine nationals. In the absence of such a reciprocity, a 50 percent foreign equity limit is imposed.