The Cavite Economic Zone or Cavite

Export Processing Zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to cus ...

(CEPZ) comprises of land encompassing the town of

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most po ...

and the city of

General Trias General Trias, officially the City of General Trias ( fil, Lungsod ng General Trias), is a 1st class component city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 450,583 people. Etymology During ...

in the province of

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...

. It is located south of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

. CEPZ was developed in five phases.

Creation

4198580-Entrance to Cavite Export Processing Zone-Rosario

The Cavite Export Processing Zone was created by virtue of Presidential Proclamation Nos. 1980 and 2017 issued on May 30 and September 19, 1980 respectively. It later evolved into the Cavite Economic Zone when former

Philippine President The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...

Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

signed into law the Special Economic Zone Act of 1995 on February 24, 1995. Under the Special Economic Zone Act enacted in 1995, the Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA) was abolished to form a better organization and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) was established to assume jurisdiction over all Special Economic Zones. After that, the Cavite Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) came to be called the Cavite Economic Zone (CEZ). As of December 31, 2012, there are 382 actively operating companies in CEPZ.

Expansion

In the last few years, development has been ongoing on the General Trias side of the Cavite Export Processing Zone, which has now become the Cavite Export Processing Zone II. It is a Special Economic Zone located in Bacao II, General Trias, Cavite, developed and operated by Majestic Technical Skills Development and Landscape Corporation.

Criticism

In her 1999 book ''

No Logo ''No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies'' is a book by the Canadian author Naomi Klein. First published by Knopf Canada and Picador in December 1999, shortly after the 1999 Seattle WTO protests had generated media attention around such issues, ...

'', Canadian writer

Naomi Klein Naomi A. Klein (born May 8, 1970) is a Canadian author, social activist, and filmmaker known for her political analyses, support of ecofeminism, organized labour, left-wing politics and criticism of corporate globalization, fascism, ecofascism ...

examined the Cavite Economic Zone as a paradigm for

export processing zones A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re- exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subject to cu ...

in developing countries. Klein criticized the lenient rules applied to companies operating within the zone, such as the tax exemptions awarded to nearly all factories in the zone, the low wages that workers in the zone were paid, and the lack of labor protections afforded to workers. In her discussions with workers in the Cavite Economic Zone, Klein documented explicit anti-union messaging, long and non-negotiable work shifts which were subject to sudden and frequent change, deaths and miscarriages due to overwork, and concerns about health risks due to hazardous chemical exposure. Noting the physical barriers between the zone and the rest of Rosario, the presence of armed guards patrolling the zone, and the inability of local governments to exercise any control over the zone, Klein sharply criticized the Cavite Economic Zone, calling it a "miniature military state inside a democracy".

References

{{coord missing, Philippines Special economic zones Industrial parks in the Philippines Buildings and structures in Cavite PEZA Special Economic Zones

Creation

Expansion

Criticism

See also

References