Number of workers at Bataan Freeport triples in 10 years

FAB was formerly the Bataan Export Processing Zone, the first processing zone in the country that was later turned into the Bataan Economic Zone. (File Photo By Ramon FVelasquez – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0)

BALANGA CITY, Bataan — The number of workers at the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) in Mariveles town has more than tripled compared to about 10 years ago, the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) said on Tuesday.

Engineer Emmanuel Pineda, AFAB chairman, said that as of February 28 this year, there were 41,888 workers employed in 98 operational multinational firms in the Mariveles Freeport.

FAB was formerly the Bataan Export Processing Zone, the first processing zone in the country that was later turned into the Bataan Economic Zone.

There were 12,777 workers in 33 locators in 2010 before AFAB was formed, he said.

Pineda said more jobs will be created at FAB as 26 hectares are still up for lease with seven additional factory buildings under construction.

“The success of FAB lies in its ‘Soft Heart’,” he said.

Pineda said the plans and development in the thriving Freeport are anchored on his personally-crafted acronym SOFT HEART.

SOFT stands for project values with “S” for socially relevant, “O” for operationally viable, “F” for financially feasible and “T” for technologically advanced.

HEART represents the freeport’s main projects. “H” is for housing and hotels, “E” for expansion areas, “A” for accessibility, “R” for renewable energy and “T” for transportation.