PEZA angling for economic zones on tribal land

THE Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said it is hoping to convince indigenous people to agree to host economic zones on their land.

“We will be conducting dialogue with ancestral domain land owners to make them understand (the benefits of) making their ancestral domain lands ecozones,” PEZA Director Charito B. Plaza told reporters, including jobs and lease income.

The agency estimates about 5 million hectares of ancestral domain are available for conversion into ecozones.

To this end, the agency signed a memorandum of agreement with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, an arm of Office of the Cabinet Secretary.

Aside from the NCIP partnership, PEZA has been forging partnerships to promote the country’s labor force.

“Right now, there is a mismatch. The data says we produce one million Filipinos that reach working age and half of them are college graduates but only 30% are employed. Usually, what we see among the youth (is that) most of them want to go abroad,” Ms. Plaza said.

The agency through the PEZA Institute hopes to ensure manpower is available to spur growth in various industries. It also plans to sign an agreement with the Commission on Higher Education, and the Department of Education to train workers in demand in certain industries.

This week, PEZA is set to meet the board of regents at the University of the Philippines to invite the state university to play a role in the agency’s projects. —