PEZA says prospective investors shrugging off corruption concerns

THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said potential investors have not yet let the infrastructure corruption scandal affect their plans, adding that it still expects the economic zones it administers to generate 100,000 new jobs this year.

“We do not see any signs of slowing down as long as the government can immediately resolve all its issues so that finally we can tell the global community that we are open for business and that we are ready to welcome their investments into the Philippines,” PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga told Money Talks with Cathy Yang on One News on Tuesday.

“Right now, we are at 1.8 million in direct jobs. We are projecting 100,000 new jobs this year. The big bulk of that will be coming from information technology and business process management (IT-BPM).”

For this year, PEZA is hoping to approve P300 billion worth of investment pledges, up from P262 billion it approved in 2025.

The top three industries operating in PEZA-administered zones are manufacturing, economic zone (ecozone) development, and IT-BPM.

“These investments that we attract, once realized, will then translate into the generation of the much-needed jobs, not just in terms of numbers, but quality jobs,” he said.

“The two main drivers of growth are our electronics and IT-BPM sectors. And so the strategy of PEZA is if we can create more ecozones in rural and new growth areas, then we can provide more livelihoods, support communities, and generate more jobs,” he added.

Nevertheless, Mr. Panga said that PEZA harbors some concerns about how the corruption scandal has been impacting the country’s viability as an investment destination.

“It is a cause for concern. I think all these political risks and all this noise about corruption in government are definitely impacting our viability as an investment destination,” he said.

“We can see from the pronouncements of the President and the cabinet that they are well-meaning (and want) to finally achieve closure on this; only when we can hold those really responsible for this mess accountable for their actions can we show the  global community that we are (serious),” he added.

He said the ecozone advantage is being somewhat insulated from the impact of the corruption scandal.

“What we usually tell them is that in PEZA, at least in the ecozones, they can be in a safer haven for their investments,” he added.

After the government announced a reform package to boost investor confidence, Mr. Panga cited the need to be “consistent and harmonized with how we implement the law… that is the only way we can really grant the fiscal incentives as promised in the law and in our registration agreements,” he added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile