Saturday, December 08, 2007 CCCI wants ecozone study on LGU losses
THE Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) wants another study on the proposed Cebu Economic Development Zone (CEDZ) that will address the supposed revenue loss the proposal will cause on local government units.
The CCCI plans to have a third-party agency to conduct and complete a more detailed study on the CEDZ proposal early next year, before House Bill 1319, which seeks to declare the entire Cebu Province as an economic zone, will be tackled by the House of Representatives.
Gerry Sta. Ana, who heads the CCCI committee tasked with the Cebu ecozone proposal, said three agencies have been invited to conduct the second study, which will be funded by the German Technical Cooperation.
These are the Manabat, Delgado, Amper and Co.; Isla Lipanan and Co.; and Punongbayan and Araullo Co. These companies, which are experts in audit, and financial and business services.
The three are expected to submit their proposals to the CCCI CEDZ study group before the end of the month, so results of the detailed study will be finished before February 2008, Sta. Ana told news reporters.
The second study, Sta. Ana said, will be more detailed and will focus on “loose-ends” in the previous study. It will address issues, such as figures showing how the economic zone concept can propel Cebu’s economic growth and help increase revenues for local government units (LGU) in the Province, he added.
Other issues that need a more comprehensive study are: how much it will cost to set up the Cebu ecozone, infrastructure needs to support the plan, and how to address the LGUs’ problem of “revenue loss.”
Sta. Ana said controversies on the supposed “revenue loss” by a town should be clearly ironed out.
“We have to be ready when we will be called to a hearing in Congress. All issues concerning the project will be addressed properly, so that we would have a strong statistical backup,” he said.
While the CEDZ proposal gained the support of all Cebuano congressman, Sta. Ana said CCCI expects other government agencies to strongly oppose the plan, especially since the government is trying to cut down incentives, like tax holidays given to investors, to increase its revenues. (MMM)
