BusinessWorld May 11, 2021 | 12:33 am By Reporter DEFENSE EQUIPMENT manufacturers have been showing interest in setting up operations in the Philippines as soon as industrial zones are put up, a top official of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said. “There are manifestations of companies — those who are manufacturing defense equipment, uniforms, weapons, military ships and aircraft — marami nang nag-invoke ng kanilang (many have expressed their) interest to bring their manufacturing companies here once we have the defense industrial complexes,” PEZA Director-General Charito B. Plaza said in an online interview on Thursday. PEZA plans to transform military reservation areas in Fort Bonifacio, Camp Evangelista, and Maguindanao into defense industrial complexes to manufacture military weapons and equipment. Ms. Plaza is aiming to have the areas declared as industrial zones before the end of the Duterte administration in mid-2022.