President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has signed two proclamations creating special economic zones in Pasig City and Tanza, Cavite.

Marcos, on April 1, signed Proclamations 512 and 513, which were made public on Wednesday.

Under Proclamation 512, Marcos designated several parcels of land with an aggregate area of 123,837 square meters in Ugong, Pasig City as an information technology (IT) park, located along E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue, and will be known as Arcovia City.

Marcos also issued Proclamation 513, creating the MetroCas Industrial Estates-Special Economic Zone in Tanza, Cavite.

Proclamation 513 covers around 404,141 square meters of land at Calibuyo village in Tanza, Cavite.

Marcos issued the two proclamations under Republic Act (RA) 7916 or the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995, as amended by RA 8748, and upon the recommendation of the Board of Directors of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

RA 7916, signed into law on Feb. 24, 1995, aims to encourage economic growth through the development of special economic zones called “ecozones.”

Special economic zones are defined in the law as “selected areas with highly developed or which have the potential to be developed into agro-industrial, Industrial tourist/recreational, commercial banking, investment and financial centers.”

An ecozone may contain industrial estates, export processing zones, free trade zones, and tourist/recreational centers.

IT parks are hubs entitled to all benefits given to special economic zones to make it more attractive to foreign investors who would want to set up their own business process outsourcing offices. (PNA)

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