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The Department of Trade and Industry plans to boost the utilization of the country’s 400 special economic zones will be intensified
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The move will strengthen the economy, hike revenues, and generate more jobs, said the DTI
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The DTI will be working closely with the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs regarding exports and foreign investments
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI plans to boost utilization of the country’s 400 special economic zones (SEZs) to strengthen the economy, hike revenues, and generate more jobs.
According to acting Trade Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque, there is a strong effort to intensify and exhaust “all possible ways to be able to use all these areas (so) we can generate income and generate jobs for Filipinos.”
Speaking at a news forum in Quezon City over the weekend, she said SEZs are selected areas that are highly developed or have the potential to be developed into agro-industrial, commercial, banking, investment, and financial hubs.
The DTI will be working closely with the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs, particularly Secretary Frederick Go, regarding exports and foreign investments.
Aldeguer-Roque also said the Trade department will bolster its drive to raise the competitiveness of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“We will use all the BOI (Board of Investments), the PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority), and all other avenues where we can really create income and jobs for the Filipino people,” she said, adding that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had ordered her to tap digitalization to support MSMEs, which comprise 99.5% of businesses in the Philippines.
The acting Trade secretary said her department will adopt the five-point strategy of digitalization, diversification, funding, franchising, and mentoring and learning.
