Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is a government agency in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

attached to the Department of Trade and Industry created to help promote investments in the export-oriented manufacturing industry into the country by assisting investors in registering and facilitating their business operations and providing tax incentives. PEZA also assists investors who locate in service facilities inside selected areas in the country (areas are called PEZA Special Economic Zones) which are usually

business process outsourcing Outsourcing is an agreement in which one company hires another company to be responsible for a planned or existing activity which otherwise is or could be carried out internally, i.e. in-house, and sometimes involves transferring employees and ...

and knowledge process outsourcing firms. Other activities also eligible for PEZA registration and incentives include establishment and operation within special economic zones for tourism, medical tourism, logistics and warehousing services, economic zone development and operation and facilities providers.

History and organization

PEZA was enacted under Republic Act 7916 and was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate and approved by former Philippine President

Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

on February 21, 1995. As provided in the Special Economic Zone Act, the PEZA Board is chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry. Vice-Chair is the Director General (Chief Executive Officer) of PEZA. Members of the Board are Undersecretaries representing nine (9) key government Departments, to ensure efficient coordination between PEZA and their respective Departments on matters pertaining to investors' operations inside the Special Economic Zones.

Incentives

PEZA offers both fiscal and non-fiscal incentives as well as ready-to-occupy business locations in world-class economic zones and IT parks or buildings. Fiscal incentives include: income tax holiday for a certain number of years, which translates to 100% exemption from corporate income tax; tax and duty-free importation of raw materials, capital equipment, machineries and spare parts; exemption from wharfage dues and export tax, impost or fees; VAT zero-rating of local purchases subject to compliance with BIR and PEZA requirements; exemption from payment of any and all local government imposts, fees, licenses or taxes; and exemption from expanded withholding tax. Non-fiscal incentives, on the other hand, include simplified import-export procedures, extended visa facilitation assistance to foreign nationals and spouses and dependents; special visa multiple entry privileges; and more.

Firms

As of February 2019, PEZA has over 396 fully operating economic zones that are spread across the country. Aside from central business districts in

Bonifacio Global City Bonifacio may refer to: Places * Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud, a town in Corsica, France * Strait of Bonifacio, separating Corsica from Sardinia * Bonifacio, Misamis Occidental, a municipality in the Philippines * Bonifacio Global City, a central bu ...

Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...

Ortigas Ortigas Center is a central business district located within the joint boundaries of Pasig, Mandaluyong and Quezon City, within the Metro Manila region in the Philippines. With an area of more than , it is Metro Manila's second most important bu ...

and

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

, there are also economic zones in other next-wave cities such as

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( tl, Lalawigan ng Batangas ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Its capital is the city of Batangas, and is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and La ...

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

, Subic,

Iloilo Iloilo (), officially the Province of Iloilo ( hil, Kapuoran sang Iloilo; krj, Kapuoran kang Iloilo; tl, Lalawigan ng Iloilo), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the City of Iloilo, the ...

Dumaguete Dumaguete, officially the City of Dumaguete ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dumaguete; fil, Lungsod ng Dumaguete), is a 3rd income class component city and the capital of the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a p ...

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...

and more. Currently, PEZA-accredited buildings and office spaces are mostly in Makati with over 35 operating economic zones including Glorietta 1 and 2 BPO,

PBCom Tower The Philippine Bank of Communications Tower, more commonly known as PBCom Tower, is an office skyscraper ranked officially as the second tallest building in the Philippines. It was previously the tallest building in the Philippines, a title it ...

, and the

Zuellig Building The Zuellig Building is an office skyscraper located in the Makati Central Business District in Metro Manila, Philippines, and is one of buildings taller than 150 m in the area. It is owned by the Zuellig Group and developed by its real estate a ...

. In Fort Bonifacio or

, there are 17 operating economic zones, including Bonifacio Technology Center, Sun Life Centre, Picadilly Star,

World Plaza World Plaza is a 27-storey office building in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Philippines. It is a development of Daiichi Properties with Gensler, the team who also developed the Best Office Development in the Philippines at the Asia Pacific Property ...

and EcoTower. In Quezon City, there are 18 operating economic zones including the

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

ELJ Communications Center The Eugenio Lopez Junior Communications Center (also called 9501, ELJ Communications Center, or simply ELJ Center) is the headquarters of the media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation and its subsidiaries, and the television network of the same n ...

in Diliman. In Pampanga, there is one economic zone, Alviera Industrial Park. PEZA previously operated and managed the Bataan Export Processing Zone (later Bataan Economic Zone) in

Mariveles Mariveles, officially the Municipality of Mariveles ( tl, Bayan ng Mariveles), is a first class municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 149,879 people. History Founded as a ''p ...

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entir ...

until its conversion to

Freeport Area of Bataan The Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB), formerly Bataan Export Processing Zone (BEPZ) and Bataan Economic Zone (BEZ) from November 20, 1972 to June 30, 2010, is a special economic zone in Mariveles, Bataan, Philippines. It was envisioned by Congressma ...

(FAB), turnover of the zone's operations and management from PEZA to

Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan The Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) is a government agency attached to the Office of the President of the Philippines that operates and manages the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) in Mariveles, Bataan, Philippines. The FAB was o ...

(AFAB), and abolishment of BEZ on

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's last day as President of the Philippines and

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. The son of ...

became president on June 30, 2010.

List of Director General of PEZA (1995 to Present)

# Lilia B. de Lima - February 1995 to June 2016 # Justo Porfirio Ll. Yusingco ''(Officer-In-Charge)'' - July to October 2016 # BGen. Charito B. Plaza, MNSA PhD. - October 2016 to June 2022 # Tereso O. Panga ''(Officer-In-Charge)'' - July 2022 to Present

References

{{authority control Government-owned and controlled corporations of the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry (Philippines) Special economic zones