The Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) is a government agency attached to the Office of the President of the Philippines that operates and manages the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) in Mariveles, Bataan, Philippines. It was created on October 23, 2009 through RA 9728 and started operations and management over the zone which took over from Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) on June 30, 2010.
The FAB was originally designed as an Export Processing Zone. Its existing infrastructures include 11 Standard Factory Buildings (SFB) with three stories each, and a total working area of . per SFB. It is currently home to over 50 locators engaged in manufacturing products for export ranging from tennis balls to yachts. AFAB also has two locators using their facilities for warehousing, one locator engaged in animal feeds processing and an enterprise currently constructing a clean coal power plant. These enterprises employ a total of 13,443 workers.
The objective of the AFAB is to revive the area and expand the Freeport. To accomplish these objectives, the Freeport seeks to attract more locators in the manufacturing, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), electronics industries and green industries, among others. It is also seeking investors to boost its tourism capabilities by refurbishing its existing recreational facilities. The AFAB is also targeting new investors to build hotels, entertainment establishments, duty-free shops, resorts, team-building facilities, and sports facilities, among others, to encourage the influx of local and foreign tourists. It also hopes to attract a medical center to the Freeport with a view towards medical tourism. Finally, it aims to encourage universities and colleges to locate in the area, to create and sustain a talent pool that can service the human resource needs of the locators.
History
On June 21, 1969, Congressman Pablo Roman, Sr. authored Republic Act 5490 designating Mariveles, Bataan as the first free trade zone in the Philippines.
In early 1972, three congressmen — Roman, Roces, and Sarmiento - sponsored the bill to convert the free trade zone authority into government corporation. This would grant the power of a corporation combined with the coercive strength of the Philippine Government to move the project ahead, especially regarding the relocation of residents. The bill stalled in Congress due to the opposition of many members to the vested interests involved.
On November 20, 1972, the Bataan Export Processing Zone (BEPZ) became the first official economic zone in the Philippines through Presidential Decree 66 (which also created Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA), later became Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA)). The BEPZ was one of the most progressive communities in Luzon during its first decade of operation. The area attracted over one hundred multinational locators. However, in the 90s to 2000s BEPZ (now renamed as Bataan Economic Zone or BEZ after the enactment of Republic Act 7916 in February 1995) stagnated and declined after it was outcompeted by two newly formed freeport zones from the remnants of American bases in nearby Clark and Subic Bay.
To put a halt to BEZ's decline and allow the zone to fulfill its original mandate to become a catalyst for progress and development in the region, Bataan 2nd District Congressman Albert S. Garcia authored a bill for the conversion of Bataan Economic Zone into a freeport. The Philippine Congress thereafter passed the Freeport Area of Bataan Act (Republic Act 9728), which was enacted into law on October 23, 2009. This Act created the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) which will turnover the zone's operations and management from PEZA on the last day of the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and upon her successor Benigno Aquino III become President of the Philippines resulting in the conversion from BEZ to FAB and the creation of the second freeport zone in Bataan after Subic Freeport in Morong and Hermosa eight months later on June 30, 2010.
During the transition period from BEZ to FAB in 2010, the question "Are you ready for the FAB?" is printed on signboards posted in various parts of Bataan, referring to the future Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) which will replace BEZ on June 30 of the said year.
Six months after AFAB's creation, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appointed Deogracias G.P. Custodio as the first AFAB chairman and administrator in March 2010.