The Marcos administration has proclaimed four new economic zones (ecozones) and expansions during the first half of the year, signaling the government’s ongoing drive to facilitate investments outside the country’s urban centers.

During the period, President Marcos approved two expansion projects of a manufacturing zone in Batangas and two new information technology (IT) parks in Bohol and Negros Occidental.

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said the government’s push to amplify countryside development through these new ecozones will facilitate growth and new investments across the country’s regions.

“The ecozones will play a vital role in attracting the much-needed investments in the country, generating more jobs for Filipinos, and contributing in accelerating the nation’s socio-economic progress,” PEZA Director General Tereso Panga said in a statement.

In May of this year, Marcos issued Proclamation No. 910 and 846, approving the expansions of Lima Technology Center in Batangas, which is expected to cost a combined total of more than ₱1.4 billion.

In total, 42.71 hectares of land in Brgy. Bagong Pook and Luta Sur in Malvar, Batangas will be developed for the expansion projects.

Expected to be completed by June 2027, these new areas are seen to significantly enhance the number of locators in Lima Technology Center.

PEZA said this will also boost the contributions of the ecozone developer, Aboitiz InfraCapital, in enabling the investment promotion agency (IPA) to entice more investments into the country.

Early this month, Marcos signed Proclamation No. 919 which designated 33.96 hectares of land in Brgy. 41, Bacolod City in Negros Occidental to be an IT park.

To be operated by real estate developer Megaworld Corp., the site will be the future home of the Upper East.

The company is set to invest about ₱1.6 billion for the development of the project, which includes the construction of two IT buildings.

Five IT-business process outsourcing (BPO) companies are expected to operate in the ecozone, creating an estimated of 2,500 direct jobs.

Lastly, Marcos issued Proclamation No. 821, which designated 11,237 square meters of land in Dampas, Tagbilaran City in Leyte as an IT Park.

Building on the success of the existing 1.4-hectare Tagbilaran Uptown IT Hub 1, the new ecozone will be known as Tagbilaran IT Hub 2, with development costing over ₱200 million.

PEZA said a prospective locator has already expressed interest in investing up to ₱70 million in the area, potentially hiring over 500 Filipinos.

With the addition of four new sites, this brings the total of ecozones proclaimed under the Marcos administration to 32. Combined, these projects have committed ₱13.406 in investments.

According to Panga, PEZA will continue to engage with local governments and developers to develop new ecozones in the country.

Last year, he stated that the agency is targeting the proclamation of at least 30 ecozones this year, with a heavy focus in countryside development.

Under the law, ecozones and the benefits they will be granted by the government are only established once proclaimed by the president.