Philippines on track with P300 billion investment target – PEZA

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April 19, 2026 | 12:00am

Despite uncertainties

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is sticking with its investment approvals target for now, but will review it by the third quarter amid ongoing global uncertainties.

“We’re still on track with our ambitious target,” PEZA director general Tereso Panga told reporters on the sidelines of the Mahi Center launch in Cebu.

However, he said the agency would revisit the target in the third quarter.

“We will know, maybe in the third quarter, if the situation will normalize,” he said.

For this year, PEZA has set a goal to approve P300 billion worth of investments.

If this is achieved, PEZA-approved investments would be 15 percent higher than the P261 billion worth of approvals last year.

As of the first quarter, investments approved by PEZA declined by 23 percent to P45.53 billion from P58.95 billion in the same quarter last year.

Panga said PEZA deals with two types of investors, those on a wait-and-see stance and those still deploying investments in preparation for the upturn of the economy.

Among those moving forward is Japanese firm Oakwave, which inaugurated a manufacturing facility for wiring harnesses earlier this week.

PEZA also signed a registration agreement on April 13, with Genuine Renewable Energy and Eco-Friendly Energy Network Corp. for its P370 million investment for the manufacture of solar panels in Batangas to be exported primarily to the European Union.

Despite global uncertainties, Panga said investors are not pulling out of the country.

However, firms operating in economic zones are concerned about the rising fuel prices stemming from the Middle East conflict.

“It’s a cause for concern. But all economies are affected by this global oil crisis,” Panga said.

He also said the government is working to make sure that there is sufficient oil inventory.

As PEZA aims to attract investments from sophisticated high-tech companies, the agency also continues to promote the upskilling of workers in ecozones with future-ready skills through the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tech Academy.

In January, PEZA together with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and information technology training company StackTrek launched the country’s first government-led AI Tech Academy in Cebu.