By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Senior Reporter
THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is seeking amendments to the PEZA law and studying ways to speed up the proclamation of economic zones (ecozones).
PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga added that the target for ecozone proclamations this year is 30.
“We are hoping that the process will be a lot faster in terms of proclamation, because we really need to accelerate the entry of investments. Maybe that is something we need to work on with Executive Secretary Ralph G. Recto,” he told reporters last week.
“I am sure he will be pro-ecozone development. I am sure he will help us speed up the process,” he added.
So far, two ecozones have been proclaimed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in 2026. These are the expansion of the First Industrial Township-Special Economic Zone in Tanauan City, Batangas and a new information technology park in Iloilo City.
This year, Mr. Panga said 15 more ecozones are in the pipeline for proclamation by the President.
Meanwhile, he said PEZA is looking to restore authority and powers previously exercised by PEZA by amending the PEZA law.
“These are the things that we need to reinstate for a more empowered authority,” he said.
In particular, PEZA wants to restore its power to issue fire safety inspection certificates and certificates of origin, create a mechanism that can expedite the proclamation process, and gain the power to venture into various types of economic zones.
PEZA is also looking to strengthen the organization by adding more deputy directors-general.
“It is a 30-year-old law, so it is high time that we revisit the provisions, align it with global standards, and modernize the way we do business in the PEZA zones so that we can accelerate the entry of more investors in the Philippines,” he said.
For 2026, PEZA is hoping to approve P300 billion worth of investment pledges, which if borne out would be 15% higher than its approvals in 2025, a growth projection it described as “conservative.”
“P300 billion is the fighting target. We have made some adjustments because if you look at our average growth rates, it is about 23% yearly,” he said.
“That P300 billion is just 15% growth, so we are also being conservative, although we are trying to maintain positive growth trajectory,” he added.
He said PEZA is expecting to register Tier-1 suppliers to NVIDIA, as well as a P6-7 billion investment from UK pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.’
“’Yung AstraZeneca, supposedly last year pa ’yon (The AstraZeneca investment should have come in last year), so we are hoping that this year, they will apply with us,” he added.
