Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has lifted the moratorium on new information technology parks and centers in Metro Manila, opening another channel for technology investments as his administration advances the proposed Pax Silica industrial hub in New Clark City.
Administrative Order No. 45 exempts IT centers and IT parks from an earlier prohibition on new economic zones in the National Capital Region. The moratorium will remain in place for other types of economic zones.
The order directs the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Board to resume accepting and evaluating applications for IT-focused economic zones in the capital region.
“Applications for the establishment of IT Centers and IT Parks in Metro Manila shall be excluded from the moratorium imposed by AO No. 18, as amended. For this purpose, the PEZA Board is directed to accept, process and evaluate all applications for IT Centers and IT Parks in Metro Manila,” the order stated.
The policy reverses part of a restriction imposed under AO No. 18 in 2019, which sought to redirect economic zone development away from Metro Manila and encourage investment in the provinces. That order was amended in 2023 but retained the general moratorium in the capital.
Malacañang cited the continued importance of information and communications services to the economy and Metro Manila’s concentration of technology-related businesses.
“The services sector, which includes information and communications, remains to be a reliable source of economic activity in the country, with Metro Manila registering the biggest share,” AO No. 45 stated.
“Allowing the processing and evaluation of applications for the establishment of IT Centers and IT Parks will attract more investors, generate more employment, and strengthen Metro Manila’s position as the leading ICT hub in the country,” it added.
The reopening of Metro Manila to IT economic zones forms a separate but complementary part of the administration’s broader technology investment strategy, which now prominently includes the US-led Pax Silica initiative.
Unlike the proposed Pax Silica hub, which is envisioned as a 1,620-hectare industrial complex in New Clark City, the new Metro Manila zones are expected to cater mainly to IT and business-process services, software companies, and other technology-enabled enterprises.
Pax Silica has a wider industrial and geopolitical scope. It seeks to build secure supply chains covering artificial intelligence, semiconductors, critical minerals, advanced manufacturing, computing, and data infrastructure. The Philippines joined the US-led initiative in April and became its 13th participating country.
Marcos placed the New Clark City hub at the center of his technology agenda during his fifth State of the Nation Address.
The government appears intent on concluding a framework agreement with the United States, reportedly targeted for November, despite opposition from political, civil society, and farmers’ groups over sovereignty, environmental safeguards, water use, and the possible displacement of communities.
Taken together, the two initiatives indicate a two-track strategy: retaining Metro Manila as the country’s principal base for IT-enabled services while attempting to build a new manufacturing and AI infrastructure corridor north of the capital.
PEZA was directed to issue the implementing guidelines for AO No. 45. The order will take effect immediately after publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.
