FREEPORT AREA OF BATAAN, THE PHILIPPINES' PREMIER ECONOMIC ZONE

This October, the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) commemorates the 55th founding anniversary of the first and forerunner of economic zones in the country-the then Bataan Export Processing Zone (BEPZ), known today as the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB).

Beaming with pride, AFAB Administrator and Chief Executive Officer Hussein P. Pangandaman leads the agency in this month's multiple celebrations. In addition to the FAB's 55th founding anniversary, the AFAB also celebrates the 15th anniversary of the passage of the Freeport Area of Bataan Law (R.A. 9728), marking the conversion of BEPZ to FAB in 2009-a testament to the region's adaptive growth-and the 5th anniversary of its charter's amendment through R.A. 11453, enabling the agency to further spread development and opportunities to the rest of the province of Bataan by declaring FAB Expansion Areas (FEA) anywhere in Bataan, given the concurrence of the local government unit concerned.