The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is betting big on the information-technology business process management (IT-BPM) sector to fuel the next wave of job creation across the country’s ecozones through 2028.
PEZA Director-General Tereso Panga said the sector will account for the bulk of projected employment growth, with direct jobs currently at 1.8 million and another 100,000 positions expected to be generated this year alone. “The big bulk of that will be coming from IT-BPM,” Panga said in a television interview.
The optimism comes as PEZA registered 67 IT-BPM projects worth P11 billion in 2025, even amid political noise and global uncertainty. From P262 billion in total investments last year, the agency is targeting P300 billion in fresh investments for 2026, with no signs of slowing down.
“As long as government can resolve these issues, we can confidently tell the global community that we are open for business,” Panga said.
Once realized, these investments are expected to translate into not just more jobs, but better-quality employment. Alongside IT-BPM, electronics manufacturing remains a key growth driver. PEZA’s strategy is to expand ecozones in both urban and rural areas to spread livelihoods and support local communities.
Manufacturing still dominates PEZA registrations at 58 percent, followed by ecozone development at 29 percent and IT-BPM at 11 percent. Investors, Panga said, typically move fast, with project gestation periods ranging from two to four months for ready buildings and up to two years for greenfield developments.
Panga stressed that PEZA’s three-decade track record of stability continues to be its strongest selling point. “Ecozones are safer havens for investments,” he said, noting that investors are focused less on political noise and more on the country’s capacity to support long-term growth.
He welcomed recent reforms, including CREATE MORE, digital tax audits, visa liberalization, and a single-window customs platform, but emphasized that consistent implementation remains critical. PEZA, he added, is pushing automation and inter-agency coordination to further ease doing business and keep investments—and jobs—flowing.
