The Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO) is seeking a budget of P2 billion to P3 billion for 2027, as part of efforts to tap into the agency’s remaining P8.6 billion capitalization and accelerate development in the region.
APECO president and chief executive Gil Taway confirmed the proposal in a recent interview, emphasizing that the requested amount would come from the agency’s long-approved but largely unreleased P10 billion in capitalization, of which only P1.4 billion has been disbursed to date.
“This is not a one-time fund, it’s meant to be released over time. We are pushing for P2 [billion] to P3 billion for 2027, so we can finally move faster on infrastructure and revenue-generating projects,” he said in a briefing Friday.
Taway acknowledged the slow release of funds, attributing it to skepticism from national agencies and lawmakers due to APECO’s previous non-performing track record.
“Maybe the national government and Congress lost trust in APECO because of its track record before we came in. But under our leadership, we are proving that things have changed. We are practicing transformational governance with accountability, transparency, inclusivity, and ethical behavior,” he said.
While APECO’s approved annual budgets increased from P256 million in 2025 to P262 million in 2026, Taway said the amounts are not enough to fully unlock the economic zone’s potential.
“If we are to deliver what is expected of APECO, we must have proper capitalization. Other agencies like AFAB have already exhausted their capitalization. We haven’t even scratched the surface,” he said.
He pointed to several infrastructure projects nearing completion, including the APECO Villas, as key to making the agency financially independent.
Based on current projections, full occupancy of the villas alone could eliminate the need for the government to shoulder APECO’s P57 million annual personnel services budget within three to five years.
Despite ongoing improvements and COA commendation for financial management, APECO has yet to remit dividends to the national government, a point of concern that the agency intends to address in the near term.
“Whenever Secretary [Ralph] Recto asks us for dividends, we have to apologize since we’re not there yet. But with incoming lease income from a locator that broke ground in April, including from a tech company, we expect revenue to start flowing by October,” Taway said.
Taway said a sustained, visible progress would justify the release of bigger funding in the years ahead.
