PEZA eyes PICOP as agro-processing zone

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is keen on declaring the Surigao-based PICOP Resources, Inc. as an agro processing economic zone.

This developed as the state agency for export-oriented enterprises is looking at expanding its portfolio to include mineral and agro-processing ecozones.

PEZA Director-General Charito B. Plaza said they are going to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to implement this plan.

“We had a meeting with the Secretary Roy Cimatu and soon we will have a MOA signing for the two types of ecozones we are promoting,” said Plaza.

The MOA will pave the way for PEZA to declare PICOP as an agro processing zone, where all wood related industries can be located from tree plantation to timber processing, and all related industries like paper making and furniture industries.

PICOP was one of the industrial projects under then President Marcos.

As an integrated forest and paper company, PICOP’s forest concession covers about 200,000 hectares in Northeastern Mindanao under a sustainable and expanding yield basis. The entire area is under several timber license agreements with the government. The wood coming from the forests are primarily used as inputs to produce veneer, plywood, lumber and paper products consisting of newsprint and kraft.

PICOP was originally incorporated on April 1, 1952 as Bislig Industries, Inc. It was renamed Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines in 1963 and to Picop Resources, Inc. in 1994. Since then, control of the company changed hands several times but as of December 31, 2006, PCP was under the control of TP Holdings, Inc.

Meantime, the domestic wood industry is relying on imports.

“Right now, the wood industry is stuck,” said Plaza saying the government has imposed a logging ban in the country. For instance, PEZA-registered firm, HTI, imports 10,000 cubic meters of wood per year for its prefabricated housing materials which the company exports to Japan and other countries.

“With our economic zone program, we hope to restore back the wood industry,” she said.

These new types of ecozones will also be granted tax incentives by PEZA.

On the mineral processing, Plaza said the presence of mineral processing industries will improve the mining industry in the country because there will be more locally processed high value products rather than exporting the raw materials. There will be an end to the export of raw minerals.

“We found out that the soil being exported is not only composed of one mineral, but several minerals,” she said.

For instance, China is importing nickel from the Philippines will only pay for nickel, but there are other mineral components in the soil that they get for free.

Meantime, the Philippine mountains are destroyed and the waters become polluted.

“If we can put in place our mineral processing industries in our ecozones, this will be put in order our mining industry, and then we can regulate the industry and both the local and the national governments would clearly have their share of the taxes and income,” Plaza added.