Pasay City – Various industry associations and foreign chambers on Monday have lauded the Philippine Economic Zone Authority’s (PEZA) continuous efforts to keep and attract more investments to the country amidst the country’s challenging situation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This comes as PEZA launched its “Global Biz with PEZA” on Monday, November 23. The Global Biz with PEZA is a monthly global investors’ forum where export investors, industry associations, foreign chambers, investment promotion partners or Ka-PIPPs, ecozone developers and operators, MSMEs, LGUs, socio-civic, business, professional cooperatives, national agencies, economists, and lawmakers meet to discuss business and investments in PEZA’s economic zones.
PEZA’s COVID efforts
Mr. Glenn Everett, the chairman of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI), has praised PEZA for its assistance and reprieves that allowed companies to continue operating and answer to the global supply and demand.
“We appreciate the good open communication regarding the handling of this pandemic [as well as] the act to protect the health of our people and our businesses. By cooperating, we have ensured safe workplaces where millions [of our employees] continue to work and earn their living,” noted Everett.
Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) President and CEO Mr. Rey Untal likewise thanked PEZA for its continuous support and assistance to the IT-BPO industry especially during this time of pandemic.
According to Untal, the IBPAP companies are now “operating at almost pre-COVID levels and that’s not something we could have achieved without PEZA’s assistance.”
“The issuances that [PEZA has] released early on in the pandemic has really allowed us to execute immediately a working arrangement that allowed us to achieve the productivity levels we have today,” he noted.
The IBPAP President also expressed gratitude for PEZA’s immediate approval of our request to extend the work-from-home concessions up to September next year, which is “very reflective of the [agency’s] very clear grasp of what we need and the industry moving forward.”
Moreover, Atty. Michael Montero of Concentrix thanked PEZA for allowing the creation of pop-up centers for IT-BPOs like them to continue operating despite the local lockdowns, saying “The implication of that is that we were able on our own to reach out to other industries that had difficult times carry on with their business.”
He added that they were able to employ more Filipinos who have been laid off as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic “only because [PEZA] allowed us to continue operating during this pandemic.”
In addition, Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters Inc. (PAMURI) Board member Ms. Celeste Ilagan noted that “many of their members have operations that are registered with PEZA and therefore we benefit from all the proactive measures that you have been doing for the industry.”
‘Wind beneath my wings’
In response to these, PEZA Director General Charito “Ching” Plaza expressed her sincerest gratitude for the continuous support and cooperation of PEZA with various industry associations and foreign chambers since the beginning.
“In behalf of PEZA, I would like to thank you as well for your continuous support to PEZA and our programs. Certainly, you are the ‘wind beneath my wings’,” said Plaza.
The PEZA Chief noted, “We recognize the big contribution of the export-oriented businesses for keep the Philippine economy afloat during this time. The least we can do for these enterprises is to continuously support and give assistance as we carry on our efforts to bounce back from this crisis.”
Support for PEZA’s future endeavors
According to Plaza, PEZA is now adopting a ‘think global, act local’ worldview with its 10-point programs geared towards attaining its goal to fully industrialize the country and make us export and production-driven.
Supporting this, Everett said “We look forward that future collaborations and smooth business processes [which are] ways to improve the competitiveness of the Philippines in this intensely competitive world and create conditions for both domestically and export-focused businesses [to continue operations].”
Mr. David Elefante, the Vice President of the Israel Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ICCP), also said he’s glad to hear that “there are companies from Israel that are now interested in relocating in the Philippines.” He also noted that it’s good that more ecozones are already being created in partnership with LGUs so that more businesses can come and invest in the country.
Meanwhile, Mr. John Forbes, the senior advisor of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) underlined the strong economic ties between the Philippines and the United States and stated that this will continue and will expand. With this, he reiterated AmCham’s 100% support “for PEZA to thrive and grow and accomplish even more for the Filipino people.”
“[Asia in the] future will have the world's largest GDP and the largest number of middle class customers in the entire world. And while we're in a ‘feel bad’ period right now as we move through the pandemic, the post-pandemic period will be very bright and the role of PEZA in the future years and decades [to come] is going to be extremely important,” noted Forbes.
Director General Plaza noted, “We will continue to do our best to perform our mandate, keep and even attract more investors to the country, and contribute to our economy. Let us work unitedly to bounce back from this crisis stronger than ever.” #