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The Philippine Economic Zone Authority has issued guidelines for the registration of pharmaceutical economic zones and the administration of incentives to pharmazone developers/operators and registered business enterprises
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The guidelines under PEZA Board Resolution No. 25-050 will be implemented jointly by PEZA and the Food and Drug Administration
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The minimum land requirement for the pharmazone development in NCR and other metropolitan areas will be 10,000 sqm and outside NCR and other metropolitan areas, 50,000 sqm
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Pharmazone developers/operators and RBEs registered under Resolution No. 25-050 will enjoy the fiscal incentives
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has issued guidelines for the registration of pharmaceutical economic zones (pharmazones) and the administration of incentives to pharmazone developers/operators and registered business enterprises (RBEs).
The guidelines under PEZA Board Resolution No. 25-050, which was approved by the Board on February 20 and published on March 11, aims to promote the establishment of pharmazones in order to bolster the local pharmaceutical industry, create employment opportunities, reduce the country’s reliance on imported medicine, and improve Filipinos’ access to affordable healthcare.
The guidelines will be implemented jointly by PEZA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to set the criteria and procedures in evaluating applications for registration of pharmazones and administration of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to pharmazone developers/operators and RBEs under Title XIII of the Tax Code, as amended.
PEZA director general Tereso Panga in a statement said the guidelines “provide clear direction on the establishment of pharma zones in the country.”
Panga added: “These zones are expected to attract substantial pharma, medical, and healthcare-related investments, advance technology, and increase local production and research—creating numerous jobs and enhancing the country’s export potential—positioning the Philippines as a competitive player in the global pharmaceutical market.”
The issuance of the guidelines was also in response to the directives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to make medicines more accessible to the Filipino people.
Under the resolution, the minimum contiguous land requirement for the pharmazone development in the National Capital Region (NCR) and other metropolitan areas will be 10,000 square meters (sqm) while outside NCR and other metropolitan areas it will be 50,000 sqm.
Preferred investments/activities registrable with PEZA for the enjoyment of incentives includes research, development, and manufacturing of medical drugs and devices, APIs, biologicals, vaccines, in-vitro diagnostic reagents, radiation emitting devices, or equipment. It also includes activities related to raw
materials, packaging materials, and other pharmaceutical, medical device, or health products as may be certified by FDA.
Pharmazone RBEs, shall, as far as applicable, “comply with good clinical, good manufacturing and other related good practices and standards as implemented and enforced by” the FDA, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Dangerous Drugs Board, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Philippine National Police, and other relevant agencies.
Pharmazone developers/operators and RBEs registered under Resolution No. 25-050 will enjoy the fiscal incentives provided for under Title XIII of the Tax Code, as amended.
For this purpose, ecozone developer/operators, utilities and facilities enterprises with 70% of the leasable/saleable areas dedicated to exporters shall be classified as “Activities in Support to Exporters” and shall be entitled to the same incentives as an export enterprise, in line with PEZA MC No. 2023-033 (recognition of ecozone developers and operators as exporters classified as “Activities in Support to Exporters” under the 2020 Strategic Priority Plan).
Non-fiscal incentives include streamlined processing of permits, licenses, or certifications, simplification of customs procedures, streamlined processing of application for environmental compliance certificate at the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau, employment of foreign nationals by RBEs as executive,
supervisory, technical or advisory positions, and PEZA visa with multiple entry privileges for non-resident foreign nationals and their qualified dependents in a PEZA RBE.
In addition, pharmazone developers/operators and RBEs will be entitled to other non-fiscal and benefits as provided under existing laws, rules, and regulations, as well as future policies.
Developer/operator of partially developed or existing ecozones, or facilities, including RBEs, however, will not be entitled to PEZA incentives.
Pharmazones are one of the priority industries of PEZA for this year.
Last year, PEZA and FDA signed a memorandum of agreement to speed up the processing of FDA-related permits for pharmaceutical-related investments in PEZA ecozones.
“As investors come in using the Philippines as a manufacturing hub in South East Asia for dependable medicines and bring in their cutting-edge technologies, I am sure that higher quality of medicines and medical supplies will be developed for the whole region and ultimately increase the availability and lower
the price of medicines for the Filipino people,” Panga said.
