Marcos lifts ban on new Metro Manila ecozones

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has signed an administrative order lifting a Duterte-era ban on new economic zones in Metro Manila.

The move is seen to open up more expansion opportunities for businesses in the capital, particularly information and communication technology and business process outsourcing firms.

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Trade Secretary Cristina Roque confirmed the development in a message to the Inquirer on Monday.

The new order supersedes Administrative Order No. 18, issued in 2019 by then-President Rodrigo Duterte, which directed the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) to stop accepting, processing and evaluating applications for new ecozones in Metro Manila to encourage investments to locate in the provinces instead.

Both Trade Secretary Cristina Roque and Finance Secretary Frederick Go endorsed the lifting of the moratorium in June.

Businesses seeking Peza incentives generally need to operate within Peza-accredited buildings. As such, the availability of accredited office space is a factor in deciding where to invest and expand.

In his fifth and penultimate State of the Nation Address on Monday, Marcos described ecozones as sites that “lay down the fertile groundwork that brings these investments into actual fruition,” noting that such zones have expanded beyond Metro Manila to areas such as Dumaguete and Misamis Oriental. /pai INQ