March 27th, 2023
Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda
The permanent appointment of Director-General Tereso Panga to PEZA leadership will help stabilize investor sentiment. Moving forward, I expect 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. 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.
I also hope to work with PEZA to address rampant agricultural and excisable products smuggling. I am 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.
I expect that we will hear from the PEZA Director-General on his plans now that he has a more secure tenure in the agency, when session resumes in early May. I congratulate DG Panga on his appointment and wish him the best.