By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter
THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said an economic zone (ecozone) it plans to establish at a penal colony in Palawan is expected to be operational by the time President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. steps down in 2028.
The so-called “mega ecozone” will be established after PEZA signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) covering more than 2,000 hectares on the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
The Palawan Mega Economic Zone (PMEZ) is expected to be “proclaimed within the year,” PEZA said.
PEZA and BuCor had entered into a memorandum of understanding on Jan. 30, 2024 to facilitate the due diligence process for converting various BuCor sites into ecozones.
“We are proud to share that we have now entered the next important step for our ecozone development in Palawan,” PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga said.
“We look forward to beginning the master planning and immediately starting the development of this ecozone, which will create more employment opportunities for Filipinos, most especially for persons deprived of liberty (PDLs),” he added.
BuCor estimates that it controls 32,000 hectares of idle land with ecozone potential, including 25,000 hectares in Iwahig, 7,000 hectares in Sablayan, Mindoro, and 300 hectares at the national penitentiary complex in Muntinlupa City.
“Palawan is the new frontier, and we want to generate income for social development and food security,” said BuCor Director General Gen. Gregorio Pio P. Catapang, Jr.
According to Mr. Panga, the 2,000 hectares allocated for the PMEZ could be expanded.
“We are eyeing a bigger area for our megazone project… But we will work on the proclamation of the 2,000 hectares initially,” Mr. Panga said via Viber.
“By next year, we can start accepting locators upon the initial area’s proclamation,” he added.
The target industries for PMEZ include electric vehicles, advanced manufacturing, green ore processing, nanotechnology, knowledge-based and artificial intelligence-driven industries, and medical-related industries.
“The impact of this project will be felt all across the region, to include an immediate heightened trade within the context of the BIMP-EAGA international framework,” Mr. Panga said, referring to the Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area.