Foreign Investments Act Amendments 1996

Non-Philippine nationals may own up to 100% of domestic market enterprises unless restricted by the Constitution, existing law, or the Foreign Investment Negative List.

The Negative List has two parts:
- List A: Reserved sectors for Filipinos mandated by the Constitution and specific laws.
- List B: Regulated sectors requiring clearances, including defense-related activities and industries impacting public health and morals.
Defense-related areas require prior clearance from the Department of National Defense (DND).
Certain problematic industries such as manufacture and distribution of dangerous drugs, gambling, and entertainment venues are regulated.
Small and medium domestic enterprises with paid-in capital under US$200,000 are reserved for Filipinos unless they involve advanced technology or employ at least 50 workers, allowing for lower capital requirement for foreigners.
Changes to the Negative List require recommendation from appropriate officials and approval by the President.
Negative Lists are updated at set intervals, ensuring protection of existing foreign investments.

Former natural-born Filipinos have equal investment rights as Filipino citizens in cooperatives, rural banks, thrift and private development banks, and financing companies.
These rights exclude activities reserved by the Constitution, defense-related sectors (unless authorized), and those covered by specific laws (Retail Trade Act, Security Agency Act, Small Scale Mining Act, etc.).

Former natural-born citizens who lost Philippine citizenship can acquire:
- Up to 5,000 square meters of urban land or 3 hectares of rural land for business or other purposes.
- One of a married couple may acquire land under this provision, but combined acquisitions cannot exceed prescribed limits.
- Up to two lots situated in different municipalities or cities, not exceeding total maximum area.
- Cannot acquire both urban and rural land simultaneously under this provision.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), along with the Board of Investments, Department of Trade and Industry, and Securities and Exchange Commission, shall prepare and distribute primer materials on the law.
These materials will be made available within 60 days of the law's effectivity and disseminated domestically and through Philippine embassies abroad.

NEDA is mandated to amend existing implementing rules of Republic Act No. 7042 to align with the new amendments.

Sections 9 and 10 of Republic Act No. 7042 and related references are repealed or amended accordingly.
Other laws inconsistent with this Act are repealed or modified to conform with the new provisions.

If any provision is declared unconstitutional, the remaining parts of the Act remain unaffected and enforceable.

The Act takes effect 15 days after publication in two newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.