PEZA suspends SSI, NCCC Mall on the heels of deadly mall blaze

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has issued indefinite suspension orders against US-based business process outsourcing firm Research Now SSI and the New City Commercial Center (NCCC) Mall in Davao City on the heels of a deadly blaze that killed a mall employee and 37 call center agents.

PEZA Director General Charito Plaza issued the orders last week, suspending the registration of Research Now SSI as a BPO company and NCCC Mall as an economic zone.

“‘Pag suspended ang PEZA registered, they cannot operate anymore and all incentives will be stopped. They can only operate back once they get all clearances and ... complied with the safety requirements of PEZA, BFP (Bureau of Fire Protection), LGU (local government unit), DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment),” Plaza told GMA News Online.

BPO firms registered with PEZA get four- to six-year income tax holidays, after which they only pay a 5 percent tax on gross income in lieu of all taxes, as well as additional deductions on labor expenses from the taxable income subject to certain conditions, and various tax exemptions and tax credits.

Plaza said letters have been sent each year to Research Now SSI in Davao City for not complying with safety standards since 2013 when PEZA found out the company has been skirting the safety norms.

“But they’re using local permit and BFP permit, hence PEZA thought they already complied because safety standard requirements are the same with the BFP and PEZA from the Fire Code Law,” Plaza noted.

“PEZA only inspects the area of the SSI as being registered with us not the entire NCCC Mall,” she said.

Revoking the business registration of Research Now SSI only applies to its Davao City operations and does not encompass the operations of Research Now SSI in Mactan 2 Ecozone in Cebu, which passed the PEZA fire safety inspection and complied with other requirements, according to the PEZA chief.

"PEZA has suspended the registration agreement of LTS Malls Inc., the operator/developer of NCCC Davao IT Center, a PEZA registered IT center, until authorities have cleared it out of any violation of laws, rules and regulations on the safety of its building in relation to the fire incident on December 23," Plaza said.

"While the Davao IT Center does not enjoy any tax incentives from PEZA, the suspension of its registration connotes that LTS Malls cannot invoke its PEZA registration in the ongoing investigation on the fire incident," she added.

Plaza said the PEZA and the BFP are working on a memorandum of agreement on the enforcement of Fire Code.

"PEZA and BFP are now mid-way to completing a memorandum of agreement on working arrangements between our offices in the enforcement of the Fire Code of the Philippines by the BFP inside PEZA zones, which will include among others, BFP's issuance of the Fire Safety Evaluation Certificate and the Fire Safety Inspection Certificate to PEZA-registered enterprises," she said.

"The MOA is expected to be completed in January," she added. —VDS/KG, GMA News