PEZA firms offer 120,000 jobs

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Despite zero investments in June, 700 locators shut down and almost 400,000 displaced by the pandemic, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is offering at least 120,000 jobs to returning overseas Filipino workers as well as those relocating to provinces.

Charito Plaza, director-general of PEZA, in a virtual press conference reported that a number of companies have left the country and cancelled their registrations.

Plaza said these companies have lost their markets and their raw material sources abroad, which led to permanent job losses of about a thousand Filipinos

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Although still optimistic of attracting investments in the country despite the economic slowdown, Plaza is closely monitoring the possibility of more locators leaving the country due to the consolidation of the global supply chain of key customers.

Plaza said PEZA is focused on ensuring existing locators stay by granting them reprieve and concessions in their operations due to the disruptions of the new coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Plaza added PEZA is also mounting virtual investment missions to attract new projects. The agency has set fora with investors from Qatar, the United States, Europe, Middle East and China.

The 120,000 job openings will be offered at the launch on July 13 of the DOLLAR (Development Outreach for Labor, Livelihood and Advancement of Resources) program.

Plaza said most of the job openings are in information technology-business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) such as in call centers, financial services like accounting as well as manufacturing.

The locators seeking workers are in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Pampanga, Tarlac, Ilocos Norte, Iloilo and in Mindanao.

PEZA will resume board meeting on July 10 when 27 projects valued at P2 billion are expected to be approved. These projects will generate 3,694 jobs.

As of May, P29 billion projects were approved.

No approvals were made in June due to the lockdown of PEZA offices in Taguig City.

As of June 19, around 2,517 companies or 78 percent of PEZA locators were operational, ensuring 1.18 million jobs. Of the number of companies, 88 percent are in manufacturing and 68 percent are in IT-BPO.

The 700 companies that have remained closed due to the disruption are still assessing their operations.

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