Japanese firms urged the Philippine government to speed up the process of approving ecozone proclamation to be able to provide ready to occupy factory sites in light of the increasing number of Japanese firms expanding in the country.
Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Tereso O. Panga, who was guest speaker at the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines, Inc. (JCCIPI), said the issue of delayed proclamation of PEZA approved application for ecozones. The JCCIPI general assembly was attended by 300 members onsite and 70 virtual participants, the largest turnout in any of JCCIPI’s general meetings.
PEZA Director General Panga addresses the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines Inc. during their annual general meeting on May 17, 2023 at the Makati Diamond Residences.
“JCCIPI members are asking if the Office of the President (OP) can speed up the process for ecozone proclamation to provide ready for occupancy sites for new and expanding investors,” said Panga. Panga told the Japanese investors that the President has tasked DTI, PEZA and the OP to harmonize and streamline the ecozone proclamation process to facilitate the creation of more ecozones particularly in the countryside.
For this year alone, PEZA has already approved three big-ticket Japanese investments with a combined investment capital of P20.951 billion. This brought total Japanese of 884 Japanese enterprises in PEZA contributing P745.637 billion investments and directly employing 345,807 workers.
In addition, Panga said that JCCIPI members were also asking if PEZA has already resolved the issue on work-from-home (WFH) arrangement. Japanese investors would like PEZA registered business enterprises to be able to avail of flexi-work with incentives similar to the treatment enjoyed by enterprises registered with the Board of Investments (BOI).
“We are pushing for hybrid workplace with max 30 percent allowance for WFH by our locators since most of our locators would like to keep their PEZA registration and sites, while availing of flexiwork for their workers,” he said.
“President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual have helped PEZA in resolving the said issues. We are also in close coordination with the other agencies and organizations to continuously address the pain-points that are proving to be the barriers in the entry of investments to our country,” he told the JCCIPI members.
JCCIPI President Shigeru Shimoda thanked the PEZA Chief for providing the much-needed updates about PEZA’s plans and programs and addressing several issues concerning the Japanese investors.
He cited Panga’s presentation at the meeting for providing valuable insights and perspective that left a lasting impact on the attendees.
In his keynote address, Panga noted that Japan has always been ichiban (number one) in PEZA.
“The remarkable contributions of our Japanese locator companies serve as a prime example of the strong partnership and economic progress achieved through the collaboration between Japan and the Philippines in which we continue to fortify,” said Panga.
With more investment missions being conducted, he said, PEZA is certain that more foreign direct investments especially coming from Japan will enter the Philippines starting this year.
“It is now up to us to follow through the investment pledges we received during the various investment missions abroad done especially by President Marcos, the best salesman in promoting the Philippines for greater trade and investment opportunities,” Panga noted
In preparation for the influx of investments to the country, PEZA and JCCIPI are looking for areas of collaboration.
“We look forward to future collaborations and opportunities to work together in promoting bilateral business relations and economic growth,” said Shimoda.