President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has designated several parcels of land in Barangay Baculong, Victoria, Tarlac as a special economic zone.

Under Proclamation No. 623, the 297,719-square meter property will be known as the Victoria Industrial Park.

Special economic zones are defined 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.

They may contain any or all of the following: Industrial Estates, Export Processing Zones, Free Trade Zones, and Tourist/Recreational Centers.

Areas may be established as ecozones in a proclamation to be issued by the President and subject to the evaluation and recommendation of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) based on a detailed feasibility and engineering study.

PEZA extends assistance, registers, grants incentives to investors. It also facilitates the business operations of investors in export-oriented manufacturing and service facilities inside selected areas throughout the country that were proclaimed by the President as PEZA Special Economic Zones.

According to PEZA, there are a total 419 economic zones as of April 2023. Of the figure, 78 are manufacturing economic zones; 297 are  information technology parks/centers; 17 are tourism export enterprises; 24 are agro-industrial economic zones; and three are medical tourism parks/center. | PND