MANILA, Philippines – Nais ni Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Tereso Panga na doblehin ang bilang ng registered economic zones sa susunod na taon.
Sa year-end press briefing ng Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), sinabi ni Panga na target ng PEZA ang karagdagang 30 ecozones na ipakikilala sa 2025.
Aniya, karamihan sa mga developer ay nagbabalak na maglagay ng ecozones sa CALABARZON at Central Luzon regions, maging sa Cebu province, ngunit isinusulong din ng PEZA ang pagpapaunlad sa rural areas.
“We (would) like to see more ecozones being developed in Mindanao. So the ones that make a big push for these are agriculture. They are more into resource seeking type(s) of investments, agriculture including green ores,” ani Panga.
Sinabi ng PEZA chief na target ng investment promotion agency ng mas maraming information technology parks sa labas ng metropolitan areas.
Mayroon pang isang investment na magpapaunlad ng 25-ektarya ng ecozone sa halagang mula P1 bilyon hanggang P2 bilyon.
“The challenge now is how we can provide for readily available areas so when we get investors inquiring on site selection. If you don’t have land to offer them, especially economic zones, then easily like that, we lose them to other competitors in the region,” aniya.
Sa kaparehong briefing, sinabi ni DTI Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque na nais ng kanyang ahensya na isama ang micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sa ecozone supply chain.
Hinimok ni Roque ang MSMEs na tingnan ang oportunidad na ilagay ang kanilang mga operasyon sa PEZA zones para makakuha ng insentibo at makipag-ugnayan sa iba pang ecozone locators.
“So, it’s something that we need to push aggressively to create awareness on what DTI has to offer to these MSMEs,” aniya.
“We are very supportive of the plan on how to integrate more MSMEs into the ecozone value chain. To do that, we really have to support the creation of ecozones in the countryside. They go hand in hand with MSME development including in the countryside.”
Ngayong taon, ipinakilala ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ang karagdagang 16 na ecozones. RNT/JGC
