PEZA asks the gov’t again to lift NCR ecozone moratorium
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is once again urging the government to lift its moratorium on new economic zones (ecozones) in the National Capital Region (NCR).
According to PEZA Deputy Director General Tereso Panga, the ban needs to be lifted as it does not align with the provisions of the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act.
The official said that “CREATE… (stipulates) the criteria in setting up an information technology (IT) center in Metro Manila (and lists) IT services as an eligible activity (for incentives)… therefore, from our understanding and with our presentation to the Fiscal Incentives Review Board] (FIRB), we should already be allowing for the resumption of (registering) IT centers in Metro Manila.”
Citing the predictions of the IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), Panga added that “there will be an increase in uptake (for IT ecozones of) 450,000 to 650,000 seats. The more reason that we should be allowing this growth is so that we can facilitate the spillover effects of the IT growth in the countryside.”
Administrative Order (AO) No. 18 issued by Malacañang in June 2019 declared a moratorium on approving new ecozones in the capital region to help distribute development more evenly to the countryside.
PEZA Director-General Charito B. Plaza said that locators to the countryside must be supported by making services there more efficient.
