The 427 economic zones in the country are not only sanctuaries of progress but also function as areas to preserve national security during crises, particularly conflicts with other nations.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile said detractors of the ecozones who alleged that the special development areas were coddlers of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) should reexamine their position since destroying these ecozones would have a backlash on the country’s security.

Cagayan Economic Zone Authority administrator and chief executive officer Katrina Ponce Enrile on Friday maintained that there are no POGO operations inside CEZA.

Ms. Enrile guaranteed that CEZA would abide by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s total ban on POGO operations.

‘’We have no POGO operations inside the zone. We do not sanction such activities. We do not coddle any illegal operations that have any semblance to POGO operations inside our zone,’’ she said.

President Marcos, last November, issued Executive Order 74 prohibiting POGOs, internet gaming, and other offshore gaming operations in the country.

Ms. Enrile told Daily Tribune, “What I said was POGO is the exclusive creation of Pagcor (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp). However, we abide by the directive of the President.”

“I don’t know why people want to destroy CEZA. I created it at the behest of President Cory Aquino. She sent me around the country to find places that could be developed economically so that we could spread the risks of economic development in case of calamity or in case of a war,” the elder Enrile said.

Several economic hubs

“We identified several areas like Cagayan, Zamboanga and Antique with the aim of making development balanced and, if something happened in one place, it would not affect the others,” he said.

He pointed out the economic areas should be strategically spread throughout the country to make them effective in spreading development and ensuring security.

“But what is being done is bunching up the development in the western part, putting all the money of the people who are struggling to pay their taxes in a risky place,” he said.

As of April 2023, the Philippines had a total of 427 economic zones. These zones are distributed across the regions.

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) oversees various types of economic zones, including manufacturing and information technology parks, agro-industrial zones and tourism zones.

As of April 2023, there were 78 manufacturing economic zones under PEZA’s jurisdiction.

These economic zones play a crucial role in attracting foreign investment, promoting exports, and generating employment across the Philippines.

Enrile said that in case of a war, the western part of the country will be affected by the conflict “and the people will starve to death.”

No enemy from east

“Can you imagine that the eastern area is the anchor of safety and national security?” Enrile said the country has no potential enemy that can attack from the east which faces the Pacific Ocean.

“Our enemies may come from the south, southwest, from the west and northwest, and none from the east,” he emphasized.

“We have to care about our children and grandchildren. We must always think of our country first, how to provide for them and how to keep them safe from other countries,” Enrile continued.

“Every country around can be our enemy, no exception, and that’s why may I beg those who have in their minds to destroy, stop it there,” he said.

“If war erupts and a blockade is put up from Palawan with the intent of invading the Philippines, what port can be opened for the economy to keep running? CEZA will be one,” he said.

Enrile believes that if an economic center can be developed in the Bicol region “to access the Pacific, that will be the most strategic for the country.”

From Bicol all the way to Kasiguran in Isabela would be an area that can support 50 million Filipinos economically, the veteran public servant said.

He explained: “That’s how important that is and there is no one that can attack it and that is why we have to develop that as a place for our government and the people in case of war.”

Enrile added that when you build the country, you have to build the economy, and you have to build the system to safeguard that economy.

“That is what China is doing now; they had the timeline to develop the military until 2030, prepare for war until 2050 to conquer the world, that is their purpose.”

The President’s top lawyer said CEZA was not only an economic project, but it’s also a part of the security of this country, until today that is the norm.