Salceda urges House adoption of Senate’s Bulacan ecozone bill

ONE of the House of Representatives’ resident economists is recommending that the Chamber adopt the Senate version of a bill that seeks to create a Bulacan economic zone in order to attract more foreign investments and create more jobs in the region just outside of the capital.

Albay Rep. Jose Maria Clemente “Joey” S. Salceda said on Tuesday that he welcomes the Senate’s approval of Senate Bill No. 2572 on the creation of the Bulacan Airport City Special Economic Zone and Freeport Authority.

“The Senate version is completely fine with me,” Mr. Salceda said in a statement. “The Bulacan Ecozone, once created, will provide the necessary impetus for planned industrial and commercial development around the Bulacan Airport.”

The ecozone covers the Bulacan International Airport development as well as the surrounding cities of Malolos and Meycauayan, and the municipalities of Marilao, Bocaue, Balagtas, Sta. Maria, Guiguinto, Paombong, Obando, and Bulakan.

The Bulacan Special Economic Zone and Freeport Act mandates that 40% of tax revenue collected from the zone will proceed to the National Government, 40% to the local government, and the remaining 20% to the body for infrastructure development.

The bill also mandates the Bulacan ecozone body to formulate a development plan that outlines the list of projects to be accomplished within the zone.

Mr. Salceda said that the proposed measure would create the “largest ecozone in the country,” which would link “Clark (in Pampanga) and Metro Manila into one large megalopolis.”

The proposed ecozone bill would also provide the necessary developments to promote “labor efficiency, transport, and value-chain linkages,” benefiting the country’s economy, he said.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva said during Monday’s plenary that the creation of the ecozone could generate up to 1.2 million jobs and bring in as much as P130.9 billion in investments. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio