Mechanism
Administrative Order No. 31 creates the Semiconductor and Electronics Industry Advisory Council (SEIAC) as the institutional governance scaffold for Philippine semiconductor industrial policy. The Council is chaired by the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs, with the DTI Secretary as Vice-Chair. Membership includes the Secretaries of NEDA, Finance, Energy, DOST, DOLE, and DepEd; the chairs of CHED and BCDA; the TESDA Director-General; and one private-sector representative.
The SEIAC is assigned four core mandates: (1) provide strategic guidance for implementing the PSEI Roadmap; (2) coordinate inter-agency interventions across the semiconductor and electronics value chain — covering advanced packaging, IC design, front-end manufacturing, and talent development; (3) recommend legislative measures for sectoral competitiveness; and (4) oversee national laboratory and R&D infrastructure investments. The order directs DTI to develop the PSEI Roadmap as the strategic framework for industry growth.
AO 31 is distinct from the PSEI Roadmap itself: the order creates the institutional architecture (council composition, mandate, reporting lines), while the PSEI Roadmap — formally launched at the 4th SEIAC meeting in March 2026 — is the substantive policy programme with $110B export targets and capex commitments.
Downstream implications
- First semiconductor-specific institutional instrument in the Philippine register — closes a structural gap in the 7-action PH cohort (Maharlika SWF, Tatak Pinoy, PPP Code, EV tariffs, RE liberalisation, CREATE MORE, mining fiscal regime), none of which targeted the semiconductor sector despite it representing ~60% of Philippine goods exports
- Governance scaffolding for the ~$50B current annual semiconductor/electronics export base — Philippines holds ~5% of global ATP/back-end packaging capacity, with significant operations by Texas Instruments (Baguio), Analog Devices (Cavite), STMicroelectronics (Calamba), Amkor (Subic), ON Semiconductor, and NXP
- Positions Philippines in the ASEAN semiconductor institutional-policy cohort alongside Vietnam Decree on semiconductors, Indonesia semiconductor roadmap, Malaysia National Semiconductor Strategy, and Thailand National Semiconductor Strategy
- Enables the PSEI Roadmap's $110B by 2030 export target by providing the inter-ministerial coordination body needed to align DTI-BOI, CHED, TESDA, DOST, and DOLE interventions
- Responds to CREATE MORE Act (RA 12066) and Tatak Pinoy Act (RA 11981) as the institutional overlay that operationalises the fiscal incentive infrastructure those statutes created
Open questions
- Whether the SEIAC achieves effective inter-agency coordination given the breadth of membership (8 departments + 3 agencies + private sector)
- Pace of front-end manufacturing (fab) capability development — current Philippine base is predominantly ATP/back-end; roadmap targets IC design and long-term front-end but timelines are ambitious
- Adequacy of the three national laboratory investments given the capital intensity of advanced semiconductor R&D