MANILA -- The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) on Saturday reported the approval of PhP2.845-billion investments for March, almost half of which came as a result of the foreign trips of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
PEZA Director General Tereso Panga said the approval of the investments came after the board meeting last Friday, which he said, also reflected the agency’s bullishness to attract more investments this year under the Marcos administration.
“Ganoon ho kami ka- bullish ngayon. Kahapon (Friday), nagkaroon ho kami ng board meeting and for March, ngayon ko lang po… if you will allow me, I will now share with the media our approval – just yesterday, our board meeting, we added another PhP2.845 billion,” Panga said in a news forum in Quezon City, adding that it is 21.8 percent higher than in the same period last year at PhP2.343 billion.
“If you will sum up our first quarter performance, January to March, already January to March – P14.951 billion in investments; P14.951 billion in investments, which is 19.25-percent higher than P12.537 billion achieved in the same period last year,” he said.
Panga noted the foreign trips of the President has attracted more investments, with the latest from Germany and the Czech Republic. He said that based on PEZA’s running of figures, it could easily be at 43 percent of its PhP175.7 billion, or roughly PhP75 billion.
In 2023, the Philippines achieved a high investment rate – 25 percent growth, or PhP175.7 billion, increasing from PhP140.7 billion base figure in 2022. Last year, it posted 25 percent increase to PhP175.7 billion.
Panga said all PEZA’s current indicators are up for exports and employment, manifesting the Philippines’ upward trajectory for 2024, which is something that is expected for the year and onwards because of its excellent gross domestic product (GDP) performance since 2022.
“The Philippines happens to have the highest GDP growth rate in ASEAN since ’22 po – for three years in a row now. That makes the Philippines one of the best performing economies in the region,” he said.
Panga pointed out President Marcos assumed office at a time that the country was recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
It quickly recovered in the second half of his administration, with the country achieving a 103 percent increase in investments, he said.
Created in 1995, PEZA is the government agency designating areas all over the Philippines as economic zones. Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA), its predecessor, was established in 1969 by the late president Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr., the President’s father.
Currently, PEZA has 422 operating economic zones covering manufacturing, agri-industrial, tourism, IT-BPM, with of all the operating economic zones becoming home to more than 4,300 export-oriented locator companies, Panga explained.
PEZA is a big contributor to the economy – almost 17 percent of the country’s GDP, the PEZA official said, noting more than 50 to 60 percent of the country’s total exports of goods and services come from the locators alone. (PND)
