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| Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Charito Plaza and Batangas State University President Tirso Ronquillo signing the Memorandum of Agreement with Philippine Association of State Colleges and Universities (PASCU) for the establishment of a Special Economic Zone Institute (Image Source: Philippine Information Agency) |
"Being a KIST Park will now enable BatStateU to partner with foreign schools to bring their programs so we can produce more skilled Filipinos as we embark on transforming our workforce to become multi-skilled, multi-knowledgeable and world-class," said PEZA Director-General Charito "Ching" Plaza. PEZA chairman and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) secretary Ramon Lopez added, "Ang KIST Park ay siguradong makakatulong sa pagbunsod ng kapasidad at kakayahan ng BatStateU na magsagawa ng mga pananaliksik para matugunan ang mga pangangailangan ng industriya pati na rin ang pag-incubate ng mga start-up enterprises upang matugunan ang demand ng mga merkado." Likewise, BatStateU president Tirso Ronquillo expressed that, "with this development, SUCs in the Philippines can expand their programs for academe, industry, market synergy, technopreneurship, business incubation acceleration based on innovation, and knowledge procreation for science and technology.
A week prior to the launch, the Philippine Association of State Colleges and Universities (PASCU) signed a Memorandum of Agreement with BatStateU and PEZA leading to the establishment of a Special Economic Zone (SFZ) Institute in the campus. According to PEZA Director General Plaza, the SFZ Institute aims to provide skills training and research among others based on the type of industry identified in the region and partner with SUCs with competence to transform every Filipino worker into multi-skilled, world-class and rich human capital, addressing one of the efficiency factors investors are looking for. "PEZA is spreading the creation of different types of ecozones nationwide, especially to the countryside. This is by virtue of Administrative Order No. 18 and in support of Executive Order No. 114 which is the Balik Probinsiya, Bagong Pag-asa Program of the national government. Through KIST and various skills training programs, we can spread not only investments but also employment, technology and skills to attain the total development of the Philippines," Plaza noted.
Since the start of the Duterte administration back in 2016, there are now 73 proclaimed new economic zones including one Agro-Industrial Economic Zone, 52 Information Technology (IT) Centers, 9 IT Parks, 10 Manufacturing Economic Zones and one Medical Tourism Center. These ecozones have brought about Php88.3 billion worth of investments as proclaimed between the periods of October 2016 and June 2020. To date, there are 63 pending applications for proclamation of new economic zones in the Office of the President. Plaza stated, "Once signed, these will bring in export companies to the Philippines. PEZA's different types of ecozones are built and proclaimed in accordance to the land available and efficiency and environmental factors in the location. It is assessed if the type of industry is viable or suitable in the area.
