THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) is eyeing to build new facilities inside the four public economic zones (ecozones) in the country, including the Mactan Economic Zone.
During the second day of the Entrepreneurs’ Summit on June 14, 2019, Peza Director General Charito Plaza said her office is planning to build a training center, a hospital and a military commissary store in each of the government-owned economic zones.
The training center will serve as the venue for all the skills training of the different industries located in the ecozones.
Peza also plans to build a hospital inside each ecozone where workers, locators and their dependents can avail themselves of free medical and hospitalization benefits.
“We have made a study about this. Peza will put up the hospital, and we will discuss with the industry and the locators of each ecozone to make the maintenance and operation, including the medicines, part of their corporate social responsibility,” said Plaza.
The third facility is the military commissary store which will sell low-priced grocery items, appliances and clothing, among others for workers and military reservists to enjoy.
Plaza said they are inviting Peza workers and locators to apply as military reservists so they can help protect the country and their fellow Filipinos during the times of natural disasters, emergencies and even war.
In March 2019, Peza, the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) forged an agreement to beef up the country’s reserve force.
The agreement provides that the AFP will facilitate the conduct of special basic citizen military training and allow the enlistment of Peza employees into the reserve force.
Plaza, who is also a reservist brigadier general, said the program will allow the country to have more personnel to extend a hand during disaster response and community services.
“These are just some of the facilities we will put inside the ecozone, and we hope the private ecozones will follow suit,” she said.
Moreover, Plaza said the establishment of the three facilities in each state-run ecozone will become a model for Peza’s new ecozone concept, which is a township or integrated development.
“We hope to integrate more developments inside our existing and new ecozones, such as residential, commercial and schools,” she said.
Besides these new facilities, Plaza will also make the four government-owned ecozones models of green, healthy and smart ecozones in the country.
There are about 393 operating ecozones nationwide.