section_path: Presidency (2016–2022)/Domestic policy/Economic policy
section_name: Economic policy
paragraph_text: Economic policy
  
  Duterte's socioeconomic policies, referred to as DuterteNomics, include tax reform, infrastructure development, social protection programs, and other policies to promote economic growth and human development in the country. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has said that the government required what he describes as an "audacious" economic strategy in order for the Philippines to "catch up with its more vibrant neighbors" by 2022 and help it achieve high-income economy status within a generation. The term DuterteNomics was coined to describe the economic policy of the Duterte administration.
  
  Duterte initiated liberal economic reforms to attract foreign investors. In March 2022, he signed Republic Act No. 11647 which amended the Foreign Investment Act of 1991, effectively relaxing restrictions on foreign investments by allowing foreigners to invest in a local enterprise up to 100% of its capital. He signed Republic Act No. 11659, amending the 85-year-old Public Service Act, allowing full foreign ownership of public services, which include airports, expressways, railways, telecommunications, and shipping industries, in the country.
  
  Duterte reformed the country's tax system in an effort to make the country's tax system fairer, simpler, and more efficient. In December 2017, he signed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law (TRAIN Law) which excludes those earning an annual taxable income of ₱ 250,000 and below from paying the personal income tax, while raising higher excise taxes on vehicles, sugar-sweetened beverages, petroleum products, tobacco and other non-essential goods. Revenues collected from the TRAIN law will help fund the administration's massive infrastructure program. In March 2021, to attract more investments and maintain fiscal stability, Duterte signed the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act, reducing the 30 percent corporate income tax rate to 25 percent for firms with assets above ₱ 100 million and to 20 percent for smaller firms. Duterte raised sin taxes on tobacco and vapor products in July 2019, and alcohol beverages and electronic cigarettes in January 2020, to fund the Universal Health Care Act and reduce incidence of deaths and diseases associated with smoking and alcohol consumption.
  
  Duterte's tax reform program has garnered both support and criticism. Critics have argued that the administration's tax policy would burden the poor. The implementation of the TRAIN Law triggered protests from various left-wing groups. On January 15, 2018, protesters gathered at various public market sites, calling for the revocation of TRAIN. However, proponents of the program cite its appeal to foreign investors and economic benefits as the main reasons behind tax reform.