PEZA to urge next admin to lift NCR ecozone ban

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is planning to urge the next administration to lift Administration Order No. 18 or the ban on setting up new economic zones in the National Capital Region (NCR).
Malacañang implemented AO No. 18 in June 2019 as a way to encourage investment in regions outside Metro Manila.
PEZA Director General Charito Plaza said that they had repeatedly requested the government to remove the ban but President Rodrigo Duterte has not acted on the agency’s request.
According to the agency, withdrawing the administration order will “help attract badly needed investments” in the country.
The PEZA official added that the government “have to accept the reality that while we want investors to go to the countryside, investors prefer areas [like Metro Manila].”
Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) chair Benedict Hernandez added that it is important for foreign investors — especially Fortune 1000 companies — to first set up shop in the capital.
He stated that “there is rarely any new investor who jumps to the province. Their first safety comfort is to see how this works [when they establish] Metro Manila as a location.”