Firearms produced by foreign companies may soon come out of munition plants in the Philippines if the government attracts investors in its defense industrial complexes. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
BAGUIO CITY—What’s one way of protecting the country?
Invite world powers to build their munition plants in new economic zones designed as defense industrial complexes (DICs).
“Who would dare attack us,” if China, Russia and Israel agree to manufacture rockets, ammunition and even drones in Bataan, Palawan and Mindanao, where DICs would operate, said Charito Plaza, director general of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), when she opened a Luzon economic zone summit here last week.
Plaza said Peza would develop defense industry zones after President Duterte said he would enforce an independent foreign policy.
Under the Peza plan, DICs would host factories to be built by “the United States, Japan, Israel, China and Russia and other nations which can manufacture military aircraft, sea craft, arms and munitions, combat clothing, drones and everything related to military and police use,” Plaza said.
“So if, God forbid, there would be a third world war … because we have everybody locating their defense industries here, who will dare attack us?” she said.
“The Philippines becomes the zone of peace in that situation,” she added.
The first DIC is a 300-hectare arsenal of the Department of National Defense in Limay town in Bataan province.
Plaza said the Hermosa town government in Bataan had applied to convert 3,000 ha of land near the arsenal as a component of the DIC.
“We will be building another one in Palawan [province] because it faces the [disputed] Spratly islands. Two more will be developed in Mindanao,” she said.
“Why are we distributing these [DICs]? Because President Duterte declared that the Philippines should not be exclusive to America,” she said.
“We are inviting defense industries in the world to locate here,” she added.
Peza is completing an inventory of idle lands in the country because of a plan to establish one economic zone in every region.
Plaza said the agency had invited local governments and big landowners in the provinces to offer lands suited for economic zone activities as it wages a “war against poverty and unemployment.”
Peza oversees 365 economic zones. In 2016, its locators exported goods worth $47.962 billion and employed a million workers. —VINCENT CABREZA