The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) has recently identified 21 potential economic zones in the countryside as it seeks to establish more pharmaceutical parks amid the demand for manufacturing of vaccines and medicines, among others.
The regulator of ecozones said that the proposed ecozones were a result of its collaboration with the Mindanao Development Authority, the Southern Philippine Development Authority, the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, other Cabinet members and executives from Mindanao.
Peza said such a move supports Administrative Order 18, which bans new ecozone developments in Metro Manila and encourages investments in the regions.
“In line with the AO 18, we hope to scatter and spread more ecozones nationwide, especially in the countryside so that we can attract different types of industries,” Peza Director General Charito Plaza said in a news statement issued on Wednesday.
Plaza hopes to establish more pharma ecozones after a recent investment in the said industry.
“Another ecozone developer has put up a Pharma Park to attract investors into manufacture of vaccines, medicines and vitamin supplements, hospital equipment for Covid-19 and other medical purposes,” she said.
This, after Peza brought in an Israeli investor to produce Covid-19 oral vaccines in a facility in Angeles, Pampanga, Plaza said.
Peza noted that Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez expressed his support for local production of vaccines.
“It’s in getting the vaccination rollout that is critical as well as the discoveries of new medicines. Manufacturing of vaccines in the country and its rollout will help us sustain the reopening of the economy,” he said.
Apart from pharma parks, Peza hopes to put up more Knowledge, Innovation, Science and Technology (KIST) parks; aqua-marine and renewable-energy parks; mineral processing ecozones; halal hubs and production; and defense industrial complexes.
In a recent interview with the BusinessMirror, Plaza proposed the inclusion of the defense industry in Strategic Investment Priorities Plan (SIPP) under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) law.
SIPP is the list of investment sectors that may apply for fiscal incentives under CREATE.
Decentralizing Peza
Meanwhile, Plaza also told the BusinessMirror previously they are setting up more regional offices as more special economic zones are expected to be created in the countryside. These are intended to be operational by January next year.
“We will come up with a new structure of Peza where we are going to decentralize and regionalize our service, anticipating that more economic zones will be created in the countryside,” she explained.
She said that many local government units and private landowners are now aiming to put up economic zones.
Currently, Peza is working with its consultants in determining the personnel, technical expertise, rate of salary and employee benefits granted in each regional office.
“We are envisioning that our economic zones will become the economic driver so that we can convert towns to become smart towns, digital cities. Hopefully, with the economic zones in the regions, we can create…new metropolitan [areas] in every region,” she said.
Peza is currently regulating around 410 economic zones across the country, majority or 290 of which are information-technology parks and centers.