Reg’l ecozone authority set up in ARMM

The country’s first Regional Economic Zone Authority (REZA) has been set up in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to attract more investments and legitimize the informal "barter" trade in the area, Trade and Industry Secretary Cesar Purisima said.

REZA, the regional equivalent of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), would have the same power to designate special economic zones, export processing zones, industrial estates, free ports and free trade zones in the region.

More importantly, REZA would provide the package of tax and non-tax incentives to locators and investors that would do business in the designated zones, which cover a vast but underdeveloped regional area.

Purisima said among the primary beneficiaries of the REZA’s creation are the Mindanao-based seaweed and tuna industries, as well as the $150-million "Halal" food processing industry.

"Halal" is the process of preparing food under the acceptable religious standards of Islam.

Purisima added that the REZA is an important socio-economic component specified in the 1996 peace agreement forged between the government and the secessionist Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

He said REZA would help boost investments in the ARMM through the provision of economic structures, resulting in the inflow of capital that would open up business opportunities and create jobs.

With the economic upliftment of ARMM, Purisima said the lingering problem of peace and order in the region – one of the country’s poorest – would hopefully be addressed.