The Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) on Wednesday, held its Annual Stakeholders’ Night at the AFAB Auditorium in Mariveles, Bataan.
The event was organized to honor and give recognition to outstanding companies and individuals who have excelled in their respective fields over the past year. Led by AFAB Administrator Emmanuel Pineda, the Authority has been conducting this event for ten years now.
This gathering serves as an expression of AFAB’s gratitude for the hard work, dedication, and achievements of all its stakeholders and workers.
The Authority gave away a total of 56 awards in various categories to deserving recipients.
During the ceremony, Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Hubert Guevara conveyed a message from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Mariveles Vice Mayor Lito Rubia and councilors of the town of Mariveles were also present, along with FAB locators and the local press.
Before the event, Administrator Pineda told newsmen in a news briefing dubbed as “Kapihan sa FAB” where he said FAB is still among the fastest growing economic zones in the country based on the number of its locators, investments, and workers.
“We have a total of 150 approved investments, 95 of them operating and we have a total of P173 billion committed investments,” Pineda said.
The 95 operating FAB enterprises employ about 40,000 workers wherein almost 64 percent were already regularized. AFAB likewise as of 2022 has completed a total of P13.4 million worth of infrastructure projects within the FAB community.
Meanwhile, AFAB already has 18 expansion areas in the province of which seven are operational while the others are undergoing development. As of 2022, only Morong and Orion have no FAB expansion areas.
With these, Pineda underscored the impact of Republic Act 11453 in driving higher investments with focus on emerging technologies and industries.
The law strengthened and empowered AFAB functions as it was able to register and provide appropriate incentives to new technologies and allowed the declaration of expansion areas within Bataan.
“Dahil sa bagong batas, patuloy na dumarami yung ating expansion areas, karagdagang mahigit 3 libong ektarya, dati kasi sa main zone, 1,700 hectares. Ninety percent na doon ang naipa- lease out natin,” Pineda added. (MHIKE CIGARAL)