700 PEZA factories remain on shutdown
A total of 700 export-oriented companies located in various economic zones in the country have remained on shutdown for various reasons displacing 386,587 workers, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) reported.
PEZA Director General Charito B. Plaza reported that as of June 1519, 700 PEZA registered companies or 22 percent of total PEZA firms have not been operating or have no production displacing 386,587 workers or 25 percent of total PEZA workers.
But majority or 2,517 PEZA firms or 78 percent of total are already operational. These firms employ 1,180,557 individuals or 75 percent of total PEZA workers.
According to Plaza, the companies that have remained nonoperational have varied reasons. Most of these firms have stopped operations due to lack of raw materials to sustain their production.
Others said they cannot sustain the requirements to provide temporary housing and shuttle services for their workers. Aside from the cost issue, some firms also cited scarcity of providers for housing and transportation services providers.
“But no one has left because if ever they have to apply for cancellation of their registration. They have to inform PEZA and then we look at the affected employees to ensure they get paid and the employer pays their obligations to workers and taxes to government so they can leave with a clean record and only then we can approve the cancellation of registration,” said Plaza.
In fact, Plaza revealed that PEZA Board will meet to approve 27 new projects with combined investments of ₱2 billion. These firms are expected to hire 3,694 workers.
“But we are closely monitoring,” said Plaza noting that with the pandemic the world is in a recession so there might be export companies that will consolidate resources where they could stop operation in one country and concentrate in countries that are investor-friendly.
While none of their exportoriented companies have cancelled operations, Plaza also revealed that there are a few very minor firms that have cancelled PEZA registrations.
Plaza, however, downplayed the impact of these cancellations, describing them non-exporters and coming from very minor industries such as facility and service providers for PEZA exporters.
These firms have applied for the cancellation of their PEZA registration largely because they lost their customers, she said. Plaza further downplayed the impact of these cancelled registrations stressing the affected workers could only be a hundred or less than a thousand.
“This is what we are afraid of in PEZA, that is why we have to build the trust and confidence of existing investors,” she said reiterating the agency’s call to maintain a status quo if not enhance the existing incentives regime being offered to investors. She noted that investors will not be comfortable of red tape, unstable laws and policies.