Economic zones created nearly 100,000 new jobs, says PEZA chief

The country’s 248 economic zones attracted P113.6 billion in investments as of last August, will likely surpass the $29.783 billion 2011 export target, and created 99,549 new jobs, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said on Wednesday. PEZA Director General Lilia de Lima said, in an interview on state-run radio dzRB, that the August 2011 record of investments in economic zones is 60 percent higher than the P70.958 billion in 2010. De Lima attributed the increase in investments to the PEZA’s campaign to promote the economic zones and the “positive perception of investors about the business climate in the country." “Bilib na bilib sila sa atin. Tayo lang ang hindi bilib sa sarili natin. Yung mga investors na nagpupunta dito, bilib na bilib sa Pilipinas kaya and strategy natin, bring them here…even in Mindanao," de Lima said. Exports earnings of the zones reached $27.649 billion, also as of last August, according to the PEZA chief. The target this year is $29.783 billion and there are four months’ worth exports yet to be posted. “We believe that we could hurdle the 11 percent increase in export by the end of the year," PEZA Director General Lilia de Lima forecast. Most of the economic zones are information technology parks and centers, 155 in all, while 15 are agro-industrial zones, two are medical tourism parks, 12 are tourism zones, and 64 are manufacturing hubs. Direct and indirect employment The tally of direct hires in the zones was pegged at 816,711 so far, but that figure is the cumulative or total for 15 years. Compared to the tally of 717,162 for 2010, the difference would be new 99,549 new jobs. De Lima explained that these figures do not include those indirectly employed such as construction workers, vendors, suppliers, security guards, janitors, and caterers. “In the electronic sector, they say…for every person that you hire, you indirectly hire seven or (an employment) multiplier of eight…So, if you multiply 816,000 by 5, easily over four million jobs—direct and indirect—have been created in these economic zones in a span of 15 years," de Lima said. — ELR, GMA News