MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) on Thursday said it signed the memorandum of agreement with the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) for the development of the planned economic zone inside the Iwahig prison and penal farm in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
The PEZA said the agreement was signed last January 24, with an initial area of more than 2,000 hectares (ha) allotted out of the nearly 28,000 ha Iwahig property to be developed as the Palawan Mega Economic Zone (PMEZ).
“We are proud to share that we have now entered the next important step for our ecozone development in Palawan. We look forward to beginning the master planning and immediately start the development of this ecozone which will create more employment opportunities for Filipinos, most especially persons deprived of liberty,” PEZA Director General Tereso Panga said in a statement.
“In the coming years, this ecozone will become instrumental in attracting emerging and high-value industries like electric vehicle production, advanced manufacturing, green ores processing, nano tech, knowledge-based and AI-driven industries, medical-related industries, and blue industries among others,” he also said.
Further, the PEZA official highlighted that the planned mega economic zone will also heighten trade activities within the Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines – East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) international framework.”
In January last year, during the signing of the memorandum of understanding for the PMEZ, Panga said that it would be an ideal location to host manufacturing facilities for automotive vehicles, particularly for electric vehicles (EVs).
For their part, BuCor Director General Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said they are pushing for the planned mega economic zone to be “clean, green, and technology-driven.”
“Palawan is the new frontier and we want to generate income for social development and food security,” Catapang said in another statement.
Additionally, he said that they are planning to have the economic hub play a role under the Luzon Economic Corridor, the government’s economic initiative that will link Subic Bay, Clark, Manila and Batangas.
Once established, the PMEZ will become the fifth publicly-owned economic zone, adding to the existing ones in Cebu, Baguio, Cavite and Pampanga.