THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said it is targeting locators hoping to sell to the domestic market.
“Ultimately, domestic production contributes to gross domestic product (GDP). It cannot be just exporters doing all the production. This is also a sign of strength when we see domestic output increasing. If we aggregate all these domestic producers, they are far bigger than the export producers, except that they are not aware of their incentives,” PEZA Officer-in-Charge Tereso O. Panga said during a forum organized by Anvil Business Club on Jan. 23.
“Maybe it’s about time that the government, with the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act as the platform, stimulate domestic production and services by giving incentives to Filipino-owned enterprises,” he added.
Mr. Panga also encouraged the young Filipino-Chinese entrepreneurs of the Anvil Business Club to consider investing in ecozones.
“With the growth mindset of the Marcos administration, and where the Philippines is in a sweet spot to benefit from the prevailing crises, we remain committed in performing our mandate to help keep the economy afloat and contribute to overall growth and development through our ecozone program,” Mr. Panga said.
“With the support of our partner institutions and private sector partners like Anvil, we will continue to enhance our ease of doing business so we can attract more investments and create more jobs and livelihood for the Filipinos. In doing so, we are not only able to thrive in the new reality but more importantly contribute to the President’s bid to transition the country to upper-middle income economy,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Anvil Business Club endorsed Mr. Panga as the permanent PEZA Director General.
“Many IT and business process outsourcing firms, foreign investor business groups and professional groups, even PEZA employees, have publicly called for the President and the National Government to permanently appoint (Mr. Panga) as the Director General of PEZA,” Anvil Chairman Wilson Lee Flores said.
“He is a very good career official, one of the most progressive and probusiness institutions. He is behind many of the progressive policies… (for attracting) foreign direct investment,” Mr. Flores said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave