Philippine Economic Zone Authority Officer-in-Charge Tereso Panga and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong have signed an integrity pledge last March 4, affirming their commitment to uphold high ethical standards and transparent business practices.
The signing ceremony, held at the PEZA office in Baguio City, marks a significant step towards promoting a culture of integrity and accountability in the country’s economic zones.
Joining Magalong and Panga were PEZA Deputy Director General for Operations Vivian S. Santos, Deputy Director General for Finance and Administration Aleem Siddiqui M. Guiapal, and Baguio City Economic Zone Administrator Emmanuel D. Cortero.
Prior to the signing, PEZA officials paid a courtesy call to the mayor at his office. While exchanging ideas on good governance, Magalong shared his campaign to encourage government officials to shun temptations of corruption and promote transparency in government dealings.
“This movement of good governance should spread like virus and infect the whole of government apparatus, said Magalong while distributing stickers inscribed with “Good governance beyond politics” to PEZA officials.
The mayor also shared the aspiration of Baguio to become the first Smart city in the country.
Panga informed the mayor that PEZA upholds and shares the same ideals of good governance in the advent of digital economy. Having risen from the ranks, Panga saw PEZA transform from a fledgling bureau in the late 1990s to an economic powerhouse that it is today, contributing to the economic growth by creating a brand of ease of doing business within PEZA ecozones.
The mayor was elated PEZA shares the same ideals, and together with Panga decided to cement both agencies’ shared commitment to promote good governance, honesty, utmost service and ethical business practices.
“This sends a strong message that corruption has no place in the country’s economic zones and that both the public and private sectors must work together to uphold the highest standards of integrity and accountability,” Panga said.
He added PEZA has implemented pioneering programs and initiatives to transform public and private economic zones into “green ecozones”.
PEZA has registered embedded renewable energy projects, thereby reducing carbon footprints in ecozones for a sustainable development.
For further ease in doing business, PEZA will roll out the completion of automation projects within months, together with a command center not only for purposes of monitoring the flow of goods to and from ecozones to curb smuggling, but as well as integrating the same with Department of Information and Communications Technology programs for emergency response, disaster resiliency, and business continuity plan. – Press release
April 20, 2024
