President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued two proclamations on Wednesday, one of which creates the Information Technology Park in Pasig City and the other, the MetroCas Industrial Estates-Special Economic Zone in Cavite.

In a statement, Malacañang said Marcos issued Proclamation No. 512 creating and designating several parcels of land in Ugong, Pasig City, as a Special Economic Zone (Information Technology Park), to be known as Arcovia City.

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) defines “Special Economic Zones,” or Ecozones, 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 any or all of the following: Industrial Estates (IEs), Export Processing Zones (EPZs), Free Trade Zones, and Tourist/Recreational Centers,” PEZA said on its website.

PEZA said there are 419 economic zones as of April 2023. Data broken down show that there are 78 manufacturing economic zones, 297 IT parks, 17 tourism export enterprises, 24 agro-industrial economic zones, and three medical tourism parks in the country.

According to Malacañang, Marcos issued the proclamation under Republic Act 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 peza.

The Special Economic Zone Act of 1995 was signed into law on 24 February 1995, aimed at encouraging economic growth through the development of special economic zones called “Ecozones.”