CHANGING LIVES FROM BEPZ TO FAB: THE IMPACT OF EPZ TO THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL LIFE OF THE INHABITANTS OF MARIVELES BATAAN
Abstract: The Bataan Export
Processing Zone (BEPZ) plays an
important role in the industrialization
of the country as
cited in many
existing studies. This
article, moreover, is
an assessment of the
impact of the Export Processing Zone not on the national economy but
particularly on the local community of Mariveles in the province of Bataan in
the Philippines. The article is a historical description with
a view of sharing
the synoptic picture of
changes related to
the socio-cultural and economic
life of the
inhabitants of the
town of Mariveles
Bataan as brought
about by the development of the export-processing zone
and the Freeport area. The methodology used in this research is
qualitative approach supplemented
by a descriptive
statistics derived from
primary and secondary sources of information. Finally, the article
disputes the argument of some critics that there is no gain in the
establishment of the EPZ because the government and foreign loans heavily fund
it. The Bataan
Export Processing Zone
is successful with
reference to the attainment of its main objective of
increasing domestic employment. The socio-economic benefits resulted from
the establishment of the economic
zone and the
provisions of the
infrastructure external to the zone proper have positive spillover on
the local community and eventually on the national economy.
Penulis: Rosaly P. Malate
Journal Code: jpsejarah&umumgg150007
