PEZA Director General Charito Plaza (PNA file photo)
MANILA – The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) registered PHP29.5 billion worth of projects in the first five months of the year despite the coronavirus pandemic.
In an online press conference on Tuesday, PEZA Director General Charito Plaza said investment approvals from January to May declined by 31.65 percent from last year’s pledges amounting to PHP43.22 billion.
There were 113 projects registered with PEZA over the period.
Most of these pledges are from information technology services with investments amounting to PHP10.68 billion, more than double from January to May 2019’s PHP4.92 billion worth of projects.
This was followed by the manufacturing sector with pledges reaching PHP10.35 billion this year, declining by 10.43 percent from PHP11.56 billion in the previous year.
Registered projects from real estate, renting, and business activities from January to May this year amounted to PHP8.47 billion, while that of transport, storage, and communications reached PHP35.26 million.
There were no investments registered by the electricity, gas, and water supply industry in the past five months.
At the end of the first quarter of the year, PEZA registered PHP16.5 billion projects and added PHP13 billion in April and May despite the ongoing quarantine measures.
Amid the pandemic, Plaza said PEZA is rolling out its coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) response, which involves providing workers temporary housing, transportation services to workers, and Covid-19 testing.
“This is for companies to feel being assisted and supported by the government,” she said.
As of June 5, some 75 percent of PEZA-registered companies are already operating. (PNA)
