The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) and the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officially signed a Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) transferring an initial 4,000 hectares out of the 28,000-hectare Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF) in Palawan, with five investors already planning to locate in the latest economic zone development.
The JMC was signed by PEZA Director General Tereso O. Panga and BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang AFP (Ret), and witnessed by PEZA Deputy Director General for Policy and Planning Anidelle Joy M. Alguso and BuCor Land Control and Management Center Director, C/CSUPT Melencio S. Faustino on November 20, 2025 at the PEZA Head Office in Pasay City.
Panga said the signed JMC only covers an initial 4,000 hectares with ready documents, while the remaining 24,000 hectares will follow once proper documentation has been completed.
“This milestone formalizes the transfer of the exclusive use and possession of the BuCor-administered portion of the IPPF for ecozone development,” said Panga.
The land portion of over 4,000-hectare forms a key component of PEZA’s broader development of the 28,000-hectare Palawan Mega Economic Zone (PMEZ) – set to become the country’s next landmark ecozone and PEZA’s first mega-scale government-led eco-industrial township.
At least five prospective investors have already engaged with PEZA for the PMEZ. These are – The Charoen Pokphand Group or CP Group, a Taiwanese group, a Peruvian company, local coconut-based product exporter, and a power generation firm.
Panga said that the CP Group, a Thai conglomerate and Thailand’s largest private multinational company, with businesses spanning agriculture, food, retail, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, finance and banking, is eyeing a livestock raising and aqua farm with processing facility.
The Peruvian company is the one producing the Stevia, an alternative sugar. Other than raising the Stevia crop, the group also plans to farm other high value crops in Iwahig.
Meantime, the Taiwanese prospective investor is an aqua farm operator with operations in Taiwan, China, and Indonesia.
PMEZ is further envisioned to strengthen domestic production, deepen inter-sectoral linkages, and create quality jobs for local communities that help support a stronger, more self-reliant, and future-ready Philippine economy. PMEZ is projected to employ 480,000 direct jobs in the region which will be a boon for Palawan Province.
In his remarks, Bucor DG Catapang emphasized BuCor’s evolving role in nation-building, stating that, “This partnership shows the heart of a modern BuCor, no longer solely defined by walls and fences, but what we can contribute to the nation” underscoring that the endeavor will sustain the agency’s broader modernization initiatives.
BuCor has also updated its Master Plan, highlighting the completion of its Terms of Reference (TOR) and its key points — signaling stronger alignment between both agencies and readiness to advance to the next phases of development.
Echoing confidence in PMEZ’s transformative potential, PEZA DG Panga noted “I firmly believe that PMEZ will become a magnet for new investments housing locators with complete supply chains and linking this to our broader regional commitments, particularly the Philippines’ chairmanship of the Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area or BIMP-EAGA this 2025.”
As PEZA and BuCor move in step toward this shared vision, PMEZ is set to rise as a new gateway for investments—strengthening Palawan’s growth story and further positioning the Philippines as a competitive and viable investment destination in the ASEAN region.
This comes at a pivotal moment as the country prepares for its upcoming ASEAN Chairmanship in 2026, offering a timely platform to showcase PMEZ’s strategic value.
