Ecozone investments soar 80 percent in 5 months

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

June 4, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Investment pledges in economic zones approved by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) soared by 80 percent in the first five months of the year, despite uncertainties stemming from the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the United States.

In a statement yesterday, the PEZA said it approved 102 projects worth P66.34 billion from January to May, higher than the P36.83 billion registered in the same period last year for 95 projects.

The approved investments are expected to generate $1.09 billion in export revenues and 29,337 direct jobs.

The projects approved by the PEZA during the five-month period include manufacturing, information technology – business process management, domestic enterprise, facilities, as well as utilities and ecozone development.

The approved projects include the Palawan Mega Ecozone, which will be developed with the Bureau of Corrections and involve transforming 28,000 hectares in the latter’s Ihawig Prison colony beside Puerto Princesa into an industrial estate.

“The Palawan Mega Ecozone is envisioned to attract environmentally responsible industries such as agro-industrial processing, renewable energy, eco-tourism and marine biotechnology. This will not only preserve Palawan’s rich biodiversity but will also uplift the livelihood of local communities through jobs and infrastructure development,” PEZA director general Tereso Panga said.

PEZA is aiming to complete the regulatory requirements for the Palawan Mega Ecozone within the current quarter, prior to its submission to the Office of the President for proclamation.

South Korea was the top source of PEZA-approved investments during the five-month period, accounting for 16.1 percent of total approved investments, amid the recent implementation of the South Korea-Philippines free trade agreement.

Other major sources of investments were the US with a 4.1-percent share, China (3.3 percent), Japan (2.9 percent) and the Netherlands (2.2 percent).

“There still remains some uncertainty regarding the US tariffs which are currently being negotiated. However, at PEZA we are promoting the China+1+1 methodology to facilitate the growing interest of China-based companies in having a presence in the Philippines,” Panga said.

The China+1+1 strategy involves diversifying supply chains by establishing operations in locations outside China.

According to Panga, PEZA has been receiving inquiries from firms interested to locate in the country’s ecozones.

The investment promotion agency is also in talks with Malaysian and Indonesian companies that have earlier signified interest in setting up operations in the country as part of their supply chains.