There are five agency-approved ecozones, four of which are worth a combined amount of P816.66 million, pending presidential proclamations by the Office of the President (OP), according to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).
These ecozone projects include the MetroCas Industrial Estates in Barangay Calibuyo, Tanza, Cavite; Suyo Economic Zone in Mt. Tapao, Suyo, Ilocos Sur; Kamanga Agro-Industrial Economic Zone in Barangay Kamanga, Maasim, Saranggani; Sevina Park Commercial along Barangay Biñan, Biñan City; and Tupi IT Park along the National Highway in Barangay Poblacion, Tupi, South Cotabato.
All five ecozones are owned and developed by 100 percent Filipino companies.
The MetroCas Industrial Estates is a 404,141-hectare manufacturing ecozone developed by Metrocas Properties Inc. Its estimated project cost is P500 million, approved by the PEZA Board last Aug. 1, 2018. It was submitted to the OP in Dec. 2, 2022.
Another manufacturing ecozone is the 1.59 million-hectare Suyo Economic Zone which costs P154 million. It will be developed by the municipal government of Suyo. Approved last Aug. 1, 2018, it was given to the OP in Dec. 15, 2022.
Sevina Park is a 15,681 hectare information technology (IT) park, developed by Cazneau Inc. with a project cost of P81.73 million. It was just given to the OP in Oct. 16, 2023 after being approved by the PEZA Board in Nov. 25, 2022.
The 15,000 hectare Tupi IT Park, developed by Matutum Holding Development Corporation, costs P80.5 million. It was approved last May 26, 2023 and received by the OP in Nov. 24, 2023.
The other pending project was the 328,393 hectares Kamanga Agro-Industrial ecozone of the Kamanga Agro-Industrial Ecozone Development. It was approved by the PEZA Board in Sept. 10, 2028 and received by the OP last Dec. 15, 2022. However, the project cost has not yet been disclosed by PEZA.
An additional project was listed by PEZA, pertaining to the 2,908 hectare FPN Epic Center of the Ng Khal Development Corporation at A.S. Fortuna Street, Bakilid, Cebu. According to data from the agency, the ecozone has not yet been approved by the PEZA Board and given to the OP. The cost of the ecozone was also not stated.
Last June 2023, PEZA approved Resolution No. 23-138 which streamlined the approval scheme for ecozone development. Once PEZA approves a project, it needs to be proclaimed by the President before it can be implemented.
The agency also said that it is planning to create more economic zones in rural and new growth areas.
Notably, it is engaging with government officials and agencies on amending the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Law or Republic Act No. 11534.
The amendments mostly pertain to wholly retaining the tax incentives granted to PEZA-registered firms before the passage of the CREATE Law.
"We are happy with the developments in the CREATE Law because this time we are involved. In the previous administration, we were never consulted. It's our time to be telling Congress what are the difficulty of locators, how we can enhance. We were asked about the input system. There was a hearing by Ways and Means, we were the only one called by Senator Gatchalian. There will be another hearing in Cavite, " said PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga.
Moreover, the director general shared that they are happy with the resumption of the implementation of Administrative Order (AO) No. 18 by the OP. However, he noted the limitations of the AO.
The signed AO No. 11, which amended AO No. 18 allows the "processing and evaluation of applications for the establishment of special economic zones in the National Capital Region."
"They are only opening it up to those developers whose applications were approved by the PEZA Board, pre-qualified, before the AO took effect. We did not challenge it yet. We called on all our developers [and said] it's their chance. Those that at least will be complaint will be allowed to continue on with their applications," he explained.