PEZA to pitch countryside industries to new admin

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is planning to nudge the incoming administration to allow incentives for strategic and big-ticket industries that will be located in the countryside.
According to PEZA Director-General Charito Plaza, the agency is looking to pursue a different path under the Marcos government to attract more foreign investors to the country.
Plaza added that this initiative aligns with PEZA’s recently-signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
“That’s why we are preparing in this MOU these different public lands suitable for agroforestry, agro-industrial, ecotourism, mineral processing and economic zones,” she pointed out.
PEZA and DENR’s MOU will serve as an initial and broad framework for identifying public lands that can be harnessed sustainably to spread ecozones.
Under the deal, the DENR agrees to provide an inventory of public lands and islands under its jurisdiction to PEZA to explore feasible development of sustainable mineral and agro-forestry processing economic zones, oil depots, and refinery ecozones, eco-tourism, agro-industrial special economic zones.
The MOU will also help both organizations to adhere to conserving the environment and properly managing the country’s natural resources.