The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) on Tuesday assured investors that sentiment in Southern Tagalog economic zones will not be hampered by the Taal Volcano eruption.
In an e-mail to the BusinessMirror, Peza Director General Charito B. Plaza said the proximity to possible natural calamities is always considered by developers in putting up economic zones.
As such, she bared that Peza requires builders to provide certification that the area where the economic zone will be developed is not prone to disasters.
Plaza assured investors that business sentiment in the Southern Tagalog region will remain positive on developers’ compliance to government requirements for calamity safety, including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-issued environmental compliance certificate (ECC).
“One of the requisites for proclamation of an economic zone is the ECC that is issued by the Environmental Management Bureau of DENR. Before DENR issues such ECC, the EMB requires environmental impact statement for the land development,” Plaza said.
“In Peza’s history, economic zones have not been severely affected by natural calamities, except for few cases of fire and flooding which had been mitigated. Engineers of Peza also ensure maintenance of economic zones in terms of safety and environmental standards,” the Peza chief added.
Citing reports from the ground, Plaza said the eruption of Taal Volcano did not do any damage nor much impact to the operations of economic zone firms. However, she said locators now have to craft their business continuity plans that should outline how they plan to do business in the face of the volcano’s ongoing activity.
“Not much impact, but the locators will now have to craft or update their business continuity plan to address the effects of disasters. This is done by companies globally,” Plaza explained.
“Certainly, the environmental viability of a location for business and investment is crucial factor for sustained business attractiveness of a region. Locations prone to disasters are risky for capital, labor, land and technological investments. Lives and properties may be put at risk during natural or man-made calamities,” she added.
Plaza specifically cited the Lima Technology Center and the First Philippine Industrial Park, both located in Batangas, which reported no damage, or major disruption to operations and structures, aside from the ashfall that rained not only in the region but reached Metro Manila, and as far as Central Luzon.
As such, the business viability of Southern Tagalog will likely remain unchanged, the Peza chief said. Its proximity to ports and the Manila airport, as well as its pool of talent and natural resources, makes it a favored business location for many investors.
“There are major positive points to locate in Region 4A, including its proximity to Manila ports, airports, availability of human resource, utilities, facilities, among others. These are the overriding factors in attracting investors in Region 4A,” Plaza said.
As of Peza’s latest data, Southern Tagalog hosts a total of 60 economic zones, of which, 59 are privately developed and one, the Cavite Economic Zone, is government owned.
The private economic zones there eat up over 3,921 hectares of land area, operating agro-industrial, information technology, manufacturing, medical tourism and tourism locators.
Image credits: PIA CAR