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PEZA under fresh leadership hailed

March 28, 2023 Jester P. Manalastas 184 views

A House leader expressed confidence that with the appointment of Tereso Panga as Director General of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), more investors will be attracted to do business in the country.

According to Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the House committee on ways and means, the permanent appointment of Panga to PEZA leadership will help stabilize investor sentiment.

Salceda said Panga is facing several challenges that include rampant agricultural and excisable products smuggling.

The solon said the House of Representatives will to continue to work with DG Panga on a number of issues, including respecting the cross-border doctrine with respect to Value-Added Tax, maximizing the investor promotion mandate of PEZA specifically for manufacturing, and addressing structural issues affecting our exporters, such as power, labor, and logistics costs.

“This time, we can work with more certainty. I imagine PEZA taking on a more critical role in our logistics sector by building economic zones around our new international airports,” he said.

“There is also a move towards integrated agri-industrial and agro-aqua-industrial zones, where PEZA expertise in attracting investors could play a key role,” the solon added.

Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed Panga as Director-General of the PEZA. Panga served as officer-in-charge of PEZA.

Salceda added that he is already working with colleagues from the Northern Alliance to tighten the noose on tobacco smuggling.

“PEZA, being given the police authority in its supervised ecozones, has a major role in fighting smuggling in oil, vegetables, sugar, and other key commodities through ecozones,” the solon stressed.