Some 46 applications for new ecozones have yet to be approved by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea, according to the chief of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza).
Peza Director General Charito B. Plaza said Medialdea’s recommendation is needed before the President could issue a proclamation for the new ecozones where investors could build their operations.
Under the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995, proposed ecozones that have hurdled the Peza board level still has to wait for a presidential proclamation before it could be set up.
According to the implenting rules and regulation, the issuance of the presidential proclamation is also the operative act that enables economic-zone developers and locator enterprises to qualify for incentives.
“My frustration is the President is so aggressive, in inviting investors, that’s why his state visits always have a business forum component. But now that they want to put up their industries, they cannot because of the proclamations,” Plaza said.
According to Peza’s data, of the 46 pending proclamations now awaiting the attention of Medialdea, only six were carried over from the Aquino administration.
Since President Duterte’s assumed office, only 16 economic zones have been proclaimed.
Some locators are opting to locate in the 371 existing Peza-registered economic zones, including four public ones, but most are keen on locating in new zones.
“I keep asking our investors to just hold on, we’re following up with Malacañang. If these don’t get approved soon, they may transfer to other countries,” Plaza said.
While none have pulled out yet, she warned that there is one locator firm that has been given only three more months by his principal to secure the approval. The investor may pull the plug on a P1.3-billion manufacturing project in Cebu if the approval is not secured soon.
From January to May 2017 the Peza hauled in P107.749 billion in investment pledges, a 98.14-percent leap from the same period in 2016.
Direct employment in the Peza zones as of April 2017 is at 1.3 million workers, a 5.7-percent improvement from the same period last year.
Exports, similarly, rose to $16.466 billion in January to April 2017, a 13.57-percent increase over the $14.497 billion gotten in the comparable period last year.