The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) has partnered with Twala, a legaltech startup funded by the Department of Science and Technology, to advance its digital transformation initiatives.
The partnership was formalized through a ceremonial signing held at the Peza head office in Pasay City.
With the move, Peza became the first investment promotion agency in the Philippines to adopt a blockchain-based digital identity platform.
Leading the ceremonial signing was Peza director general Tereso O. Panga, alongside Twala co-founder and general counsel Herminio “Third” C. Bagro III, and key officials from both organizations.
Through the partnership, Peza will integrate Twala Sign into its operations — leveraging the platform’s electronic signature and intelligent document capabilities to promote ease of doing business and operational efficiency across its ecozones.
“By adopting Twala, we are not only embracing secure and efficient digital workflows, but we are also taking a meaningful step toward reducing paper use across our operations. We are especially proud to be using a Filipino-developed technology that meets global standards in digital security and innovation,” said Panga.
The initial pilot implementation of Twala in Peza will cover six units, which collectively consumed over 49,000 sheets of paper in 2024.
By shifting these units to secure digital signatures, Peza expects to dramatically cut down on paper consumption, printing costs, and courier expenses.
Bagro emphasized the importance of digilegal strength and reliability of Twala’s platform.
“Twala is proud to support Peza’s commitment to modernizing public service delivery through secure and efficient digital signing technology. By enabling trusted digital transactions, we aim to help Peza improve turnaround times, reduce paper-based processes, and ultimately deliver more responsive services to its locators and stakeholders,” he said.
Bagro added: “This collaboration is a strong example of how government and local tech startups can work hand-in-hand to build a smarter, more resilient bureaucracy — one that keeps pace with the demands of a digital economy.”
The collaboration adds to Twala’s growing list of engagements with government agencies and institutions, including the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), the Senate, the Supreme Court, DOST-ASTI, DOST-ITDI, DOST-PCIEERD, the Philippine Science High School, and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
