FILIPINO shipbuilders that gathered at the two-day Expo Maritime Philippines 2023 unanimously pressed the government to level the playing field by extending to them similar incentives that foreign shipbuilders have been enjoying for many years now.

At the Ship Builders Convention, a part of the Expo Maritime staged at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza last February 15-17, an emerging player in the country's shipbuilding and ship repair (SBSR) industry, Capt. Gaudencio Morales underscored the contribution of private sector initiative to achieve the 10-year Maritime Industry Development Plan (MIDP) that the Maritime Industry Authority crafted in 2019.