THE SENATE has approved on third and final reading the bill seeking to set up the Bulacan Ecozone and Freeport Authority with the goal of attracting more foreign investment and creating more jobs.
In a 22-0-0 vote, senators approved on Monday Senate Bill No. 2572, which will create the Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone and Freeport Authority, a body that will manage and operate the ecozone.
Under the measure, the Bulacan Airport City Special Economic and Freeport Zone and Freeport Authority will be given capital stock of P2 billion, with most of its shares being paid for by the national government and local governments covering Bulacan.
The body will be under the direct control of the Office of the President.
About 40% of the corporate income tax collected from the zone will go to the national government, 20% to the body operating the ecozone for infrastructure development, and 40% to the local government.
The body operating the ecozone is tasked come up with a development plan that would include a list of projects within the ecozone.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will be in-charge of overseeing environmental concerns within the ecozone.
“I have high hopes for this ecozone that it will spur investment, create more jobs and will actually be that model, not just here in the Philippines, but all over Asia, that would hopefully increase our gross domestic product,” Senator Grace N. Poe-Llamanzares, who heads the committee on economic affairs, said.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva, who hails from Bulacan, said the ecozone could generate up to 1.2 million jobs and bring in as much as P130.9 billion in investments. — John Victor D. Ordoñez
