The City of Manila is on track to host its first economic zone dedicated to information technology, a milestone that could reshape the capital’s role in the country’s business process outsourcing sector. Star Digital Solutions, an e-commerce marketing agency based at the 16-story Manila Ecommerce Center in the San Miguel district, is preparing to seek accreditation from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority for the project.
PEZA Director General Tereso Panga confirmed the plan and called it unprecedented for the city. “This is for sure. A first in Manila,” he said. Panga added that the company also intends to register as an artificial intelligence academy under the agency, and that the two sides were collaborating toward that goal.
The proposal follows the national government’s decision in July to lift a moratorium that had blocked new economic zones across Metro Manila. With the ban removed, the zone authority can once again certify fresh locations in the capital region, opening the door to projects such as the one planned for San Miguel.
Accreditation carries financial advantages for qualifying tenants. Domestic market enterprises operating inside accredited buildings may claim income tax holidays lasting four to six years, followed by enhanced deductions for an additional five years. Building developers themselves, however, do not receive the agency’s fiscal incentives.
Metro Manila already anchors much of the country’s IT and outsourcing activity. The region hosts 178 registered IT parks and centers, home to 1,072 locator companies that together employ more than 740,000 Filipinos. During the first quarter, IT-BPM office transactions in the capital accounted for roughly 70 percent of the national total, according to property consultancy Colliers.
A dedicated zone within the City of Manila proper would extend that footprint into a part of the capital that has largely remained outside the outsourcing boom concentrated in districts such as Makati and Taguig. Officials have framed the shift as a way to broaden investment and employment while linking established outsourcing work to emerging fields like artificial intelligence.
For Star Digital Solutions, the plan pairs its outsourcing ambitions with a push into AI training, positioning the San Miguel site as both a business hub and a center for developing digital skills.
